Any Way the Wind Blows
by alohamora080
Summary: Scorpius and Rose's relationship swayed far and wide before it was strong enough to hold on.
1. The Beginning

Author's Note: Hi all! Seeing as my first chapter-based Fanfic, My Beautiful Children, is coming to an end, I've decided to start another one. That way I can work on both Pride and Prejudice and this one, Family Feuds, simultaneously.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**Year I**

September 1, 2017

In a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, an 11-year-old boy with pale skin and platinum blonde hair sat alone, twiddling his thumbs nervously. He watched as people peeked into his compartment and quickly rushed away. He sighed dejectedly; so far, no one had gone as far as to give a friendly greeting to him. One look at him, and they hurriedly scampered away in the opposite direction.

He knew why, of course. It was all because of his family. It was almost like a dictionary definition. _Malfoy (noun)—pure-blooded, prejudiced, and a danger to your child's welfare._ But he was not like that. His father had raised him differently. Fury and frustration welled up in him as yet another person looked into his compartment and quickly sped away.

He was just about to open the compartment door and tell the world what he thought of it when, to his utter surprise, the compartment door itself banged open and a scrawny boy with very untidy black hair and startlingly green eyes stood there. He'd obviously just told a joke because his eyes were alight with amusement and the girl next to him - a petite girl with bushy red hair, front teeth that were slightly large, freckles, and piercing blue eyes - was laughing. Scorpius just hoped the joke was not at his expense.

The girl's friendly demeanor vanished as soon as she spotted him and she immediately stopped laughing, narrowing her eyes dangerously. The boy, on the other hand, offered him a friendly smile and asked, "Mind if we join you?"

Scorpius and the girl both did a double take. "G—go ahead," Scorpius managed.

"I'm Albus—Al Potter, by the way," the black-haired boy said.

"I know," Scorpius said. "My father's told me a lot about your family."

Al's smile faltered slightly and the red-haired girl's eyes narrowed to the point where they were only slits.

"Good things, though," Scorpius said hurriedly, realizing where this was going. "He speaks very highly of your dad, you know."

Al looked pleasantly surprised, while the red-haired girl looked skeptical.

"Is—is she your sister?" Scorpius asked Albus. He'd seen the girl on the platform when his father had pointed the small group out.

"No," Al said with a small laugh. "_My_ sister still has two years until Hogwarts. This is my cousin, Rose Weasley."

"Nice to meet you," Scorpius said kindly, but she just crossed her arms huffily and proceeded to stare out the window, ignoring both her cousin and Scorpius.

"So… what Quidditch team do you support?" Al asked Scorpius.

And from there, the boys started an animated conversation about the amazing sport of Quidditch. Rose Weasley stared from one boy to another in disbelief; was _Quidditch_ all it took to break the ice between two boys who were destined to be enemies?

She rolled her eyes and continued looking out the window. Al might have let his guard down, but she certainly wasn't going to. This was a Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! Their family was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle during the war. They'd been the cause of much of Al and her parents' suffering. What was it her father had said to her on the platform? _Don't get to close to him, Rosie._ Like that would ever happen.

But he seemed nice enough. Rose studied the boy carefully, taking in everything from his pale face, pointed features, and light blonde hair to the way his brownish-gray eyes brightened every time a new topic was brought up. It took her a moment to realize that these eyes were now studying her as intently as she was studying him. She blinked and blushed slightly, looking away once again.

The trolley came and went. Al insisted on buying some of everything, so that the three of them could all share the lot. It wasn't long before Scorpius asked the dreaded question.

"What house do you want to be in?"

Al choked on the licorice wand he'd been chewing on and Rose had to smack him on the back repeatedly. She threw Scorpius an irritated look, as if it was his fault that her cousin was currently spitting out bits of candy.

"Did I say something?" Scorpius asked, bewildered.

"N—no," Al spluttered. "It's just—," Al sighed. "I don't want to be in Slytherin."

Rose gave Scorpius a challenging look as if she expected him to defend the house that his entire family had, so far, been in.

Scorpius did nothing of that sort. In fact, he knew that if there was one house he did _not_ want to be in, it was Slytherin. "Neither do I," he admitted.

Rose's eyes became so comically wide that it took Scorpius all his will-power to refrain from smirking.

Al rolled his eyes at his cousin and the bond of friendship between him and Scorpius seemed to strengthen over the fact that they both did not want to be in Slytherin.

By this point, Rose was feeling so left out of the conversation that she was almost considering ditching the compartment and sitting with her older cousin, Victoire, and her fellow first-year cousin, Molly. She immediately decided against it because their conversations only consisted of the latest clothes that appeared in Witch Weekly and whether or not Sebastian Lockhart was going to win the Most Charming Smile Award for the third year in a row.

Fortunately, the train seemed to be slowing down, so she muttered an excuse about getting a drink of water and left the compartment.

"I expect we'd better change into our robes," Al said, snapping Scorpius back to reality.

He'd been staring after Rose's departing figure rather uneasily. Was it because of him that she'd left the compartment so abruptly?

"Er, yeah, I'm just going to use the restroom. I'll be right back," Scorpius lied. Pulling out his robes and tucking them under his arm, he left the compartment. He wandered aimlessly through the many corridors until he saw a mane of frizzy curly red hair up ahead.

In his haste to reach Rose, he barely noticed or cared that the rest of the students were avoiding him like plague. In fact, he was walking so quickly that he barely noticed that he had walked into two boys. Groaning inwardly, he looked up, and was met with two identical mischievous grins.

"Hi, I'm James," the boy on the left said. He looked oddly like Al with the same messy black hair, though his eyes were a bright brown.

"And I'm Fred," the second boy said. He had the same vibrant red hair and freckles as Rose, though his skin was a few shades darker.

"And you must be Scorpius," they finished together.

"Pleasure to meet you—,"

"A real pleasure indeed."

"Excuse me, but I'm trying to find Rose," he disclosed rather impatiently. The way they completed each other's sentences was getting rather annoying. His head hurt from swiveling from one boy to the other.

"Rose?"

"You mean our Rosie?"

"You don't think—," James started with a little gasp.

"No, they're far too young and innocent," Fred said, but giving Scorpius a suspicious look all the same.

"But it's bound to happen eventually," James shrugged.

"Too true."

James and Fred gave him searching looks. And as they walked off, Scorpius vaguely heard one of them trail off, "If you hurt her…"

Scorpius shook his head, totally and utterly befuddled. He walked forward again, but to his disappointment, Rose had vanished. Sighing, he changed into his school robes and joined Al as they got off the train, ready to start their first day of Hogwarts.


	2. Sorting Surprises

Author's Note: Second chapter already! So far, so good.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Oh, and the Sorting Hat song? I wrote it. :)

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 1, 2017

"Firs' years over here!" a voice boomed from somewhere in front of him.

"Hi, Hagrid!" Al called.

"Albus! Bin a long time, innit?" the large form of Hagrid called.

"This is Scorpius," Al said, gesturing to him.

Scorpius gave a small smile in Hagrid's direction. His father had told him about Hagrid and how he'd been anything but kind to the half-giant while he'd been at school.

Hagrid stared at him for a second and Scorpius knew he was taking in the familiar blonde hair and rather pointed features that were so similar to his father's. He half-expected Hagrid to ignore him altogether but to his surprised Hagrid smiled at him.

"You seem a right sight nicer than yer father was," Hagrid said and patted Scorpius on the back, knocking the air right out of him.

Hagrid led the group of first years to an enormous lake where boats were lined up, waiting to take them to the school. Scorpius got into a boat with Al, Rose, and a pretty red-haired girl, whom Al introduced as his cousin, Molly. She looked rather bored as she set down next to Rose, examining her nails dully.

In a few moments, an enormous castle came into view, taking away Scorpius's breath. There were gasps among the many children and even Molly Weasley abandoned her bored demeanor and gazed with rapture at the beautiful building.

"We're finally here," Al breathed, eyes sparkling.

Hagrid led the first years to a large wooden double door. Grabbing the hand-knocker, he knocked three times. The doors swung open, revealing a warm, open hall and to the right, Scorpius could make out a pair of great gilded doors. A man walked up to them. He was rather tall and faint scars covered his face and arms.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the man. "My name is Professor Longbottom and I am the Deputy-Head of Hogwarts, as well as your Herbology teacher. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts."

"You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school."

Al paled slightly. Obviously, he was still worried about being sorted into Slytherin. Personally, Scorpius thought that there was little chance that Al would be in Slytherin, as he possessed none of the necessary qualities: manipulation and cunning.

Scorpius bit his lip nervously as Professor Longbottom reentered the Entrance Hall; he really did _not_ want to be in Slytherin. Professor Longbottom smiled reassuringly at the first years before leading them into a huge hall. Four tables graced the hall, one for each house. He scanned the Slytherin table and found his cousin, Zara Zabini. She smiled smugly at him before turning to the front of the room. Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, the black-haired boy that had so resembled Al was giving Al a wink. Al smiled weakly at him.

"Is that your—?" Scorpius started.

"Brother, yeah. His name's James," Al finished.

"We've met," Scorpius shrugged.

To his right, Rose was whispering excitedly to Molly, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." Scorpius looked up and saw that Rose was indeed correct. The ceiling was black and speckled with bright stars.

The group of first years stopped in front of a stool, on which was placed a battered and patched old hat. The rim of the hat jerked and the hat began to sing:

_Do not attempt to fool me_

_For I will surely see_

_Every single thought inside_

_That tiny head of thee_

_I will sort you into houses_

_Four of them in kind_

_Depending on your abilities_

_And sureness of the mind_

_You may be sorted a Gryffindor_

_Where dwell the brave and strong_

_If you've got nerve and gallantry_

_In Gryffindor you belong_

_You might be placed in Hufflepuff_

_Where do the fair and just_

_If I am unsure of where to put you_

_In Hufflepuff go you must_

_You might belong in Ravenclaw_

_If you've got wit and learning_

_If it is sharpening of the mind indeed_

_For which you have been yearning_

_You might become a Slytherin_

_If manipulation your strong suit_

_Cunning and determination_

_Make you Slytherins to boot_

_So please be very wary_

_Before you put me on_

_Don't hide a thing and I will tell you_

_Where exactly you belong_

The entire hall burst into applause and Scorpius felt his stomach swoop. The Sorting had begun.

Professor Longbottom now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," he said.

"Baiteson, Aidan!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Name after name was called. Some people sat on the stool for what seemed like eternity before the hat finally picked a house, while for others it took only a second.

"Longbottom, Frank!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

There was a sudden outbreak of whispering. People were pointing at him and narrowing their eyes rudely in his direction. Everyone seemed very much certain where he would be sorted—the "noble" house of his ancestors.

Ignoring the visible looks of deep loathing that people were throwing him and the way people at the Slytherin table were already making room for him, Scorpius walked fearlessly up to the stool and jammed the hat confidently on his head.

"A Malfoy?" a sly voice in his head inquired innocuously.

Scorpius's eyes widened under the hat's various flaps.

" Draco's son, I suppose," the voice sneered.

_Yes_, thought Scorpius, filled with sudden rage at his immediate labeling.

"You're nothing like_ he_ was during his sorting, that's for sure," the voice said, this time with an air of deep contemplation.

_Really? _Scorpius breathed a small sigh of relief. _That's a load off. Hopefully I won't be in Slytherin, then._

"A Malfoy not wanting to be in Slytherin? Mighty impressive, I must say…"

Scorpius was filled with new determination. _I just want to show everyone that I'm not a bad person, and I'll go through all means to accomplish it, even if it means dishonoring the Malfoy name. Though I expect the Malfoy name can't tarnish anymore, can it?_ Scorpius added dryly as an afterthought, recalling how everyone on the train had regarded him with utter disdain.

"Very valiant of you, Mr. Malfoy, very valiant indeed. This will bring honor to the Malfoy name…" the small voice trailed off.

And before Scorpius could fathom what the hat meant by this—

"GRYFFINDOR!" Scorpius heard the hat shout to the hall.

The entire hall went so silent that Scorpius was sure he'd be able to hear a pin drop. He walked to the Gryffindor table amidst many shocked looks. James was grinning and offering a place next to him for Scorpius, but before he sat down, Scorpius stood up on his seat and winked and bowed to the Slytherin table, where the looks seemed the most stunned. The air split with laughter and the Gryffindor table whooped and cheered. As Scorpius sat down grinning from ear to ear, he caught sight of Rose's astonished face, and grinned even more hugely. Things were definitely looking up.


	3. Without a Trace

Author's Note: And Chapter Three is up!

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 21, 2017

Weeks later, Scorpius entered the Gryffindor common room with Al, who had also been sorted into Gryffindor, and Rose, who still resolutely refused to have a normal conversation with him. All three of them looked exhausted as they heaved their respective school bags onto a table that was empty but for Dominique Weasley, another name on the seemingly endless list of Al's cousins.

Dominique smiled at them as they sat down. She was quite the looker; her curly strawberry-blonde hair was tied in a careless knot at the back of her head and she swept her untidy fringe out her bright blue eyes as she concentrated on writing a letter home.

"We have so much homework," Al said grumpily as he pulled out his Potions essay and stared at it venomously.

Dominique scoffed. "It gets worse, trust me. Victoire told me she had panic attacks every day during her O.W.L.s."

Victoire was Dominique's seventeen-year-old Hufflepuff sister.

"Yo, Scorp-O!" James said as he and Fred approached their table.

James Potter and Fred Weasley had taken a liking to Scorpius ever since he'd stood up on his seat and sent cheeky winks and bows in the direction of the Slytherin table on his first night. They'd been even more pleased to find out that he and Al were best friends.

"Dom! We've been looking all over for you!" Fred exclaimed, spotting Dominique.

James, Fred, and Dominique were in the same year—a year above Scorpius—and together formed the most famous trio in school.

"Did it even occur to you to check the Gryffindor _common room_?" Dominique asked with an incredulous roll of her eyes.

Fred and James stared at her blankly. "Oops."

James shook his head. "Anyway, come on, we want to show you our latest prank idea!" And with that, they each grabbed one of Dominique's arms and marched her out of the room.

Meanwhile, Rose was emptying the contents of her bag onto the table, trying in vain to find her Potions essay.

"Hey Al, I'll be back. I think I left my essay in the library," Rose addressed her cousin, completely ignoring the fact that Scorpius was also sitting at the table.

Rose left the common room without looking back. If she had indeed looked back, she would have seen Scorpius staring at her, hurt and puzzlement on his face.

She walked down the corridor at a fast pace, wanting to reach the library before it closed. She was walking so fast and thoughtlessly that she collided into something solid, leaving her breathless and on the floor.

"Watch where you're going, midget," a burly fifth-year boy said spitefully.

Rose clambered to her feet, muttering a hurried apology - she really needed to get to the library-, but before she could move, the fifth-year, whom she knew was named Devon Flint, tripped her, sending her right back to the ground.

"I wouldn't mess with fifth-years if I were you," Flint said nastily.

Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, Flint threw her into a nearby broom cupboard and closed the door, sniggering as he walked away.

Scorpius had finished his essay as well as "proofreading" Al's, proofreading being the alternative word for completing most of it. He leaned back in his armchair contentedly, glad that he was done. Al had already gone up to bed, after thanking Scorpius a million times for finishing his essay. Scorpius had just decided to go upstairs and crash when he realized something: Rose still hadn't returned from the library. Panic shot through him at this comprehension.

Putting away his and Al's essays, he left the common room, heading towards the library. Just as he was about to round the corner, he heard a whimper emanate from the broom cupboard on his right.

Filled to the brim with foreboding, he opened the broom cupboard door. It took him everything he had and more not to scream at the sight he saw.


	4. Rescuing Rose

Author's Note: Oh, Scorpius, you are such a true Gryffindor. Rose, _why_ are you so harsh? Honestly, you shouldnt take your father's advice to heart; he's a very prejudiced man.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 21, 2017

Scorpius's eyes widened as he caught sight of Rose lying in a crumpled heap on the floor of the broom cupboard. Her eyes were closed and she winced every time she attempted to move a part of her body. Her lip was swollen and blood was trickling out of a deep gash on her forehead. One of her legs appeared to be broken as well, for it was placed at an odd angle.

Knowing that he had to act fast, Scorpius tore off his tie and tied it tightly around Rose's head to try and slow the bleeding. He grabbed the half-conscious girl in his arms and ran as fast as he could to the Hospital Wing.

Banging loudly on the door to the hospital wing, he glanced at Rose; she had fainted.

Madam Pomfrey, the elderly healing witch, opened the door irritably, but her annoyance vanished the moment she saw Rose.

"Good Heavens!" she exclaimed, helping Scorpius carry Rose to one of the beds. "What in the name of Merlin has been going on?"

Scorpius shrugged helplessly. "I found her like this in a broom cupboard upstairs. He quickly untied his tie from around Rose's head.

Madame Pomfrey's eyes widened. "Such a deep gash! It'll need cleaning up. Do you mind helping me, Mr. Malfoy?"

Before he could say anything, she had handed Scorpius a cloth that she had just bathed in a potion and she went into her office to, Scorpius supposed, send for the Headmistress.

Just as Scorpius and Madam Pomfrey finished mopping up Rose's wounds, the doors to the Hospital Wing opened, and Professors Sprout, Longbottom, and McGonagall hurried in.

Professor McGonagall, though a retired staff member, still lived in the castle as she felt that she could not live peacefully anywhere else.

All three professors gazed at Rose gravely.

"Will she be alright, Poppy?" Headmistress Sprout inquired.

"Yes, it's a good thing Mr. Malfoy brought her to me in time," Madame Pomfrey said, as she started making a splint for Rose's broken leg.

The three professors then turned to Scorpius questioningly.

And Scorpius recounted how he'd noticed her absence and gone to look for her, successfully finding her in the broom cupboard.

Professors Sprout and McGonagall wore similar expressions of horror, but Professor Longbottom was looking at him suspiciously, almost as if he thought that _Scorpius_ had done this to Rose. "Whoever did this will be expelled immediately," Professor Sprout said and with that, the three professors left. Professor Longbottom gave Scorpius a searching look before he left the room.

"You'd best be off to bed too, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said. "Miss Weasley will be perfectly fine." And she too went back to her office.

After he was absolutely certain that no one was watching him, he pulled up a chair and sat by Rose's bed. Carefully, he took Rose's hand in his.

"I really hope you'll be okay," Scorpius told the unconscious form of Rose seriously. "Because whoever did this to you, I swear to Merlin, Al and I will beat him up."

There was a faint rustle behind Scorpius but he ignored it, believing it to be the wind. If he'd decided to look behind, he would've seen Professor Longbottom emerge from the shadows and leave the Hospital Wing with a hint of a smile on his face.

Almost as if on cue, Rose's eyes fluttered open. Scorpius dropped her hand, alarmed, but fortunately Rose hadn't yet noticed he was there.

When she did come to, she eyed Scorpius, confused. "What happened?"

"I found you in a broom cupboard." Scorpius explained hesitantly. "Do you remember how you got there?"

"That troll of a fifth-year threw me in there," Rose said angrily. "Devon Flint."

Scorpius made a mental note to murder Devon Flint.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked Scorpius.

"I saved you."

Rose scoffed. "_Saved_ me? I don't need _you_ to _save_ me, thank you very much." But as soon as she said it, she regretted it because the hurt that showed on Scorpius's face made her feel more guilty than she would ever admit.

"Fine," Scorpius said coldly. "In the future, I won't bother."

Rose opened her mouth to protest as he turned around, but found herself unable to form coherent thoughts. She merely watched, distressed, as Scorpius Malfoy left the room without another word.


	5. Non–Verbal Agreement Errors

Author's Note: And we move on to Second Year. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and favorites so far!

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**Year II**

October 3, 2018

First year melted into second and the relationship between Scorpius and Rose had only worsened. Due to the confrontation in the Hospital Wing the year previous, there was now a lot of awkwardness in the air where Scorpius and Rose were concerned.

Al, Scorpius knew, was utterly befuddled by the heights at which his two best friends would go to avoid each other.

Every time Scorpius heard footsteps behind him, he would leap aside and Al would mutter something along the lines of, "Don't worry. It's not her."

One evening, Scorpius threw himself on his bed tiredly, all school-related thoughts exiting his mind. He just wanted to _sleep_. He unwillingly pulled himself off of the comfortable haven that was his bed and pulled out a book from his bag that he needed to memorize cover to cover for tomorrow's Transfiguration practical. He _needed_ to be top of the class for once. Damn Rose Weasley and her smartness.

"So," Al said lightly from across the room, "what's up with you and Rose?"

Recently, Al had taken to asking this on unexpected occasions, hoping that this would trick Scorpius into answering.

"Nothing, Al," Scorpius sighed, for the thousandth time that week.

He and Rose and come to some sort of completely non-verbal agreement not to tell anyone what had happened that night.

Al looked away, clearly disappointed. "It's just hard, you know," Al said in a tired voice. "To hang out with both you when you're like… this."

A wave of guilt washed over Scorpius. Not once had it occurred to him that maybe Al had the worse end of the bargain. Al and Rose _had_ been best friends since birth, practically.

Scorpius thought quickly. "Fine, I'll tell you—,"

Al sat up straight, wearing a hopeful expression_, hopeful_ being a bit of an understatement. It was more of a maniacal grin.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone," Scorpius told Al.

Al nodded exuberantly.

"And please don't take it too hard," Scorpius finished.

Al looked slightly nervous. He certainly had the right to be, Scorpius thought sadly. This was going to slightly wreck his relationship with his favorite cousin.

Taking a deep breath, Scorpius quickly retold the story of that night to Al. He watched anxiously as Al's expression morphed from shocked at Rose's injury (the story had been hushed up and everyone had been confused as to why Devon Flint had suddenly vanished from Hogwarts), to distressed by the state his cousin had been in, to furious at her unnecessary outburst.

"How could she _say_ something like that?" Al asked, voice trembling with unexpressed fury.

"Al, please don't—,"

"How could she?" he repeated, voice level now rising.

Al jumped to his feet, startling Trevor, Frank's cat, who purred menacingly at him. But Al took no notice of this as he made to leave the room. Scorpius, knowing that Al was going to go give Rose a piece of his mind, quickly stood between him and the door.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," Al said through gritted teeth, "move away from the door and nobody gets hurt."

He's using full names, Scorpius thought, frightened.

"Please, Al, it's nothing—,"

"Nothing? _Nothing?_" Al demanded, now completely losing it. "How can this be _nothing_? How can you be perfectly okay, after everything she threw in your face, last year?"

Because I'm used to getting everything thrown at my face, Scorpius thought darkly, but he didn't dare mention this aloud.

"Please, Al," Scorpius said with an air of finality in his tone. "Leave it."

Al gave Scorpius one last incredulous look before trudging back to his bed and grudgingly taking his homework out. Not another word was said.


	6. The Silent Treatment

Author's Note: A recap— Scorpius told Albus about last year's mishap, and Al is furious with Rose, although she doesn't know that yet.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

October 4, 2018

Al and Scorpius silently got ready the next morning and went to breakfast. The silence was slowly killing Scorpius. He couldn't lose Al as a friend. In many ways, Al was his only one. Though the vast majority of the school had given up the Malfoy prejudice, no one quite understood him like Al did.

True, the entire Weasley-Potter family supported him and treated him like family, but he didn't feel as comfortable around them as he felt around Al.

They sat down at the Gryffindor table, and hesitantly Scorpius started a conversation. Al talked, his anger with Scorpius obviously dissipating. Suddenly, he stopped talking.

Scorpius looked up to see Rose Weasley enter the hall. She was chatting quite animatedly with Molly, who was too bored and preoccupied with her appearance to tell Rose that she did not care about what she was saying.

Rose sat down at the Gryffindor table on Al's other side. Al's face became so red with anger that Scorpius had to kick him under the table. Al glared at Scorpius before returning to his porridge, hand shaking.

Rose glanced at Al's hand. "Al?" she asked sweetly. "Are you okay?"

"Dandy," he replied through gritted teeth.

Rose raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth—evidently to ask Al why he was talking with such ferocity—when James sat down on her other side, bursting with excitement.

After a moment of bouncing in his seat, he calmed down enough to say, "Yeah, sure, don't ask me why I'm about to wet my pants with excitement."

"Oh, James," Rose said with such melodrama that many people at the table had to stifle giggles, Scorpius being one of them. "Why _ever_ are you about to wet your pants at the breakfast table?"

James rolled his eyes, and pulled out a paper from his bag titled 'Quidditch Try-outs.'

Rose rolled her eyes.

Scorpius seemed to have caught this, for he asked, speaking to her for the first time in months, incredulously, "You don't like _Quidditch_?"

Wow, this was not what he'd imagined talking to her again would be like.

"Of course I like Quidditch, you dolt," she replied loftily.

"Which Quidditch team do you support?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"Cannons," Rose replied promptly without any trace of embarrassment.

Rose could hear James cough "Loser" into his cereal behind her, so she slapped him upside the head without turning around. Satisfied with the "ow" that stemmed from the boy behind her, she too returned to her breakfast.

Scorpius meanwhile, was trying to reason with Al.

"Al, come on, let it go. I'm totally fine," Scorpius begged.

Al brusquely got up from his seat and exited the hall without another word.

"What's wrong with him?" a voice asked.

Scorpius turned around and saw Rose staring at him inquisitively. Steering away from the more uninviting 'What's it to you?', Scorpius explained lamely, "He's—he's a little upset."

"Really?" Rose asked with a look of mock-wonder on her face. "I had absolutely no clue. Tell me more."

Scorpius cast a dark look in Rose's direction. Then, lowering his voice, for he knew that James was pretending not to listen to their conversation, he said, "I told him what happened last year."


	7. Quidditch Tryouts

Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for your encouraging feedback! So, as a treat, here is the first of two Quidditch chapters... because what's a Harry Potter Fanfic without some Quidditch?

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

October 4, 2018

"You prick!" Rose exclaimed in an angry whisper, "Why in the name of Merlin did you do that? Now Al hates me."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her. How could anyone be so _selfish_? "He's not the only one."

Leaving Rose to her guilty thoughts, Scorpius left the table and went searching for Al, finding him minutes later in the Quidditch stands, his head in his hands.

Scorpius felt unnerved. He and Al never had fights; sure, they had the occasional squabble, but who _didn't_ have those? Scorpius was overcome by apprehension as he hesitantly sat down beside his best friend. Al looked up, saw Scorpius, and made to get up, but Scorpius pulled him back down.

"What is it?" Al asked jadedly, clearly unenthusiastic about the prospect of speaking to Scorpius.

"Al, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what happened before."

Al remained silent, staring at a spot in the distance as though silently waiting for a reason not to leave.

"I confronted her, if it makes you feel any better," Scorpius shrugged.

"Thanks," Al said.

"But please don't be too hard on her," Scorpius begged. "I don't think she meant what she said."

Al stared at Scorpius long and hard. "Alright," he finally agreed, with a note of resignation in his voice. "She's my cousin, anyway. I'd love her no matter what."

Scorpius smiled.

"So what happens now?"

* * *

Ten minutes later found Al and Scorpius—along with about thirty other people—lined up on the Quidditch pitch.

Al's face was as deathly pale as it had been during the sorting as he surveyed the dozens of people who'd showed up to the try-outs.

The Gryffindor team was in need of major reinforcements as the only remaining players from the year previous were Melinda Wood (keeper), James Potter and Fred Weasley (beaters), and Dominique Weasley (chaser). They required two chasers and a seeker.

"What position are you trying out for?" Scorpius asked.

"Seeker," Al replied in a strangled whisper.

Scorpius nodded. His father had been a Seeker, too; although Scorpius knew for a fact that his father had made it onto the Slytherin Quidditch team more because of bribery than pure talent.

Astoria Malfoy (née Greengrass) on the other hand had been an outstanding Chaser during her time. Despite not being able to play for her house team—the Slytherin team had not permitted women to play for them at the time—, she had been very skilled with a quaffle.

Scorpius had inherited this skill from her.

The Captain of the Gryffindor team, a seventh year named Melinda Wood—daughter of the very famous Oliver Wood, himself—strode up to where the group of perhaps-to-be-newcomers stood.

"Hello, everyone," she said in a low, confident voice. "We're going to start with Seeker try-outs."

About a third of the group stepped forward, Al being one of them. He glanced fearfully at Scorpius, who nodded encouragingly, and then at James—who, along with Fred and Dominique, had come to watch—who gave him a thumbs-up.

But Al needn't have worried, Scorpius observed, for he outflew the competition by catching the snitch in a matter of seconds.

James clapped his younger brother on the back as he landed on the ground with a soft thud. "Merlin, Al, I had no idea you could fly like that!" he exclaimed.

"Honestly, James, neither did I," Al replied breathlessly.

Rose came running across the pitch a moment later, face lit up with pride. "Al, you were amazing!" she cried.

"Thanks," Al said brightly, and Scorpius could tell he meant it as he permitted his cousin to hug him.

Scorpius felt slightly more cheerful as he stood in the line with the twenty people who still remained at try-outs.

Melinda blew her whistle and five by five, the Chaser-position-wanters tested their skills against the amazing Captain herself.

The first fifteen or so people, Scorpius reckoned, couldn't hold a quaffle to save their lives, so Melinda was looking considerably tested as she called Scorpius and his four remaining competitors up to the hoops.

Kicking off from the ground, Scorpius felt a rush of adrenaline as the wind washed over his face and whipped his hair around. He gripped his handle tightly, performing a sharp turn in midair and turning to face the hoops.

Scorpius thought he could vaguely hear James and Fred chanting, "Go Scorp-O! Go Scorp-O!" from below him. Grinning to himself, Scorpius caught the quaffle in his right hand and charged towards the hoops, feeling invincible.

Minutes later, Scorpius, along with his new chaser partner, Daniel Thomas, landed on the ground looking thoroughly windswept, but incredibly happy with themselves.

Al, James, and Fred approached Scorpius with congratulatory grins on their faces.

"Congratulations, mate," Al said, throwing an arm around Scorpius's shoulders.

"Excellent flying up there," Fred said.

"You didn't miss a single hoop," James said, looking very awed. Scorpius took this as the highest compliment. It was a great feat, he decided, to leave James Potter speechless.

"Congratulations," a small voice said from behind him, and Scorpius turned around to see Rose Weasley looking unusually meek and hesitant. "You were really good."

No, he thought resolutely to himself, _this_ was the highest compliment.


	8. Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw

Author's Note: Quidditch Chapter 2/2!

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

October 20, 2018

As weeks went by, the one hour each day in which Scorpius was at Quidditch practice became the best hour of his day. The new team worked brilliantly together, and they always walked into the school after practice exhausted, yet satisfied.

Melinda Wood was an amazing Keeper, with talent to rival her father's. Scorpius was positive that Puddlemere United would be begging her to join them as soon as she left school.

Fred Weasley and James Potter had the classic talent that they'd inherited from the Weasley Twins, Fred and George. Ever bludger they hit always seemed to reach it's intended destination.

Dominique Weasley was a superb chaser, having been personally coached by her aunt, Ginny, who had played professionally for the Hollyhead Harpies when she was younger. Scorpius and Daniel watched her play and caught many useful techniques.

Al was as good as his father and more. He was quick and agile, easily swerving to avoid bludgers and generally keeping out of everyone's way until he caught the snitch, finishing the practices with a bang.

Soon, however, Melinda's practice schedules became crazy and more than once did Scorpius wake up to her pouring a bucket of freezing cold water on him early in the morning. Melinda pushed them to the limit, not ending practices till everyone was dripping from head to toe in sweat.

The only thing about practices that really puzzled Scorpius was the fact that Rose always seemed to be there. Rain or shine, Scorpius always looked up to see Rose in the stands, book in one hand and breakfast in the other. But no one else seemed to care, much less notice. Not even the paranoid Gryffindor captain.

The morning of their first match, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, Scorpius woke up in the morning with a tight pit in the middle of his stomach. He felt almost as if someone had reached in and pulled out his insides, leaving him feeling woozy and out-of-place. He looked to his right and to his relief Al looked much the same, if not even worse. The two went down to breakfast, pale and nervous, and it did not help that the first piece of news that they received was discouraging.

"What do we _do_?" James was asking Fred.

Fred's face was screwed up in concentration. Then, he sighed and shook his head, letting it drop to his palms. "We're doomed."

"What? Why? Why are we doomed?" Al wanted to know, tearing up to where Fred and James were sitting at the Gryffindor Table, isolated from everyone else.

"Shh, don't shout," Fred warned, looking around to see if anyone was listening in.

"What is it then?" Al pressed on, getting impatient now.

"We don't have a keeper," James said dejectedly.

"Or a captain," Fred put in.

"_WHAT?_" Scorpius and Al bellowed at the same down.

"Would you keep it down?" Fred admonished in an urgent whisper. "Yes, Melinda came down with Dragon Pox just yesterday. They've taken her to St. Mungo's."

"Holy Merlin!" Al was hyperventilating.

The rest of the team joined them momentarily and soon they were all panicking.

"We'll have to forfeit," James said, looking close to tears. "This sucks."

"I know," Al said, flinging an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"Maybe I could be the keeper?" a soft, feminine voice from in front of them suggested.

Scorpius looked up and was shocked to see Rose Weasley standing feebly in front of them, looking astonishingly unlike herself. Scorpius wanted to laugh, but when he glanced sideways at Al, he was surprised to see the boy grinning, emerald eyes sparkling with untold joy.

"Team," he said confidently, "we've found ourselves a reserve keeper."

Half-an-hour and a lot convincing later, the seven teammates found themselves walking into the changing rooms to change.

"Er, Al," Scorpius asked Al for the umpteenth time that morning, "are you sure this is a good idea?"

Albus rolled his eyes. "Scorpius I've said it,"—he counted off his fingers—"seventeen times, and I'll say it again. Rose is an _amazing_ keeper. Whenever all of us Weasley-Potter cousins played Quidditch when we were kids, we always made her keeper. She's had a lot of practice... and she knows all our plays. She's watched _every single_ one of our practices."

Scorpius nodded, still not totally convinced.

Al noticed this and put a hand on Scorpius's shoulder saying, "Trust me. You'll see."

And see he did.

"Captains, shake hands," Madam Hooch said.

James, who was subbing for Melinda as Captain, stepped forward and had his hand crushed by William Davies, Ravenclaw captain.

"Let the game begin!"

Scorpius shot into the sky and nodded at Daniel and Dominique before grabbing the quaffle tightly in his right hand and passing it to Dominique. The pass was intercepted by Davies, who shot towards the goal post at the speed of light, and shot the quaffle brilliantly at the hoops.

Scorpius winced as he watched the quaffle speed closer and closer to its destination, but just as it was about to enter the hoop, Rose Weasley dived out of thin air and kicked the quaffle out of the way just as beautifully as it was shot.

Scorpius gaped at Rose, mouth hanging open so wide that he was surprised that it hadn't touched the ground. He stared at Rose for so long that he missed a pass from Dominique, earning him a whack on the head from Daniel.

"Oi," Daniel scolded, "Scorp, quit gawking at Rose. You can stare at her some other time."

Scorpius blushed and was about to retaliate when he saw Rose wink at him. Still blushing, Scorpius turned back to the game.

Later—

"GRYFFINDOR SEEKER ALBUS POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH TEN MINUTES INTO THE GAME! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Nellie Jordon screamed joyfully, dancing around in her seat.

Scorpius cheered and punched the air as he dived towards the ground and landed with a thud. He joined Albus, James, and Fred in their group hug. It had been a perfect game and they had won by a landslide: 270 — 0. The three Gryffindor chasers had scored 40 points apiece and Al had indeed caught the snitch within minutes of the game's starting.

Scorpius was feeling positively gleeful as he saw Davies stalk off the field, muttering under his breath something about a 'damn good keeper.'

It was true, Scorpius admitted. Rose was amazing. He felt stupid for even doubting her abilities. She had made several truly spectacular saves, and they definitely could _not_ have won the match without her.

Scorpius looked up and caught Rose's eye. She smiled at him, a real warm smile that reached her eyes, illuminating her face and making her look quite pretty, he decided. Perhaps he and Rose could get along after all.


	9. The Burrow

Author's Note: The first of a quite a few Christmas chapters! It'll be fun and festive!

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

December 17, 2018

Christmas was just around the corner, and Scorpius was feeling more and more down each time he thought about it. The last thing he felt like doing was returning to Malfoy Manor. Christmas at Malfoy Manor wasn't _horrible_ or anything—it was actually rather festive—, but this year his parents wouldn't be there, as they were going on a trip to Switzerland for their honeymoon.

And so the prospect of returning to Malfoy Manor with no one to talk to was bumming Scorpius out.

But the absolute worst part was his jealousy towards Rose and Al, who were both going to the Burrow for their Weasley-Potter Family Christmas get-together. It was going to be a full house apparently, and Scorpius, who'd grown up alone and as an only child, felt extremely envious of them.

But on the bright side, Rose was no longer lowering his self-esteem every chance she got. In fact, he and Rose were being almost civil to each other. They were finally able to have a polite conversation without one wanting to murder the other. Except for when it came to being top of the class—that was one thing they both got a little _heated_ over.

"...Teddy will be there! And Victoire, too! I can't understand why they won't get married already. I mean they live together anyway," Al rambled on about how wonderful Christmas was going to be.

Scorpius nodded, trying not to show Al his downcast expression as he grudgingly spooned peas and gravy into his mouth.

"So how are you getting home for Christmas?" Scorpius asked Al, more out of lack of anything else to say than because he actually wanted to know.

"The train, of course," Al said. "But you're coming too! Didn't I say? Mum wrote and told me to invite you weeks ago!"

Rose who'd just sat down next to Al moments ago rolled her eyes at this. "Git," she said, slapping Al upside the head. "How could you forget to tell him that?"

But Scorpius's spirits soared nonetheless. The thought of spending Christmas at the Burrow, the wonderful house he'd heard so much about, seemed almost unreal to Scorpius, who'd been close to contemplating whether or not he actually _wanted_ to go home for Christmas.

"She wants m—me to come?" Scorpius stuttered.

"No, no," Rose said skeptically from behind a Transfiguration essay. "We're talking about our other friend named Scorpius Malfoy."

If anything could escalate Scorpius's spirits further, it was this. Rose Weasley had referred to him as a friend. They were no longer just two second years who saw a lot of each other; they were _friends_.

* * *

December 24, 2018

So Scorpius got off the Hogwarts Express a week later feeling happier than he had in a long, long time. He, Rose, and Al jumped off the train, jovially chatting about all the fun things they'd be able to do once they reached the Burrow.

"Mum!" Al cried suddenly and Scorpius looked up to see a pretty woman with freckles, vivid red hair, and bright brown eyes waiting for them on the platform, a grin on her face.

"Hi, Al!" she exclaimed, engulfing her second son in a bear hug. "Rosie! Scorpius! How are you guys doing?"

Scorpius could feel Ginny Potter's eyes sweeping over him, taking in, he knew, the blonde hair and pointed features which he'd so unfortunately inherited from his father. Not for the first time in his life was Scorpius wishing he'd inherited more from his mother than just her eyes.

"Fine," Scorpius mumbled, not meeting her eyes, as he was suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

Al burst into a speech about how Gryffindor was going to thrash everyone else in the Quidditch finals this year. James, Fred, and Dominique joined them a moment later, all wearing very suspiciously innocent expressions. Scorpius didn't blame Mrs. Potter for looking wary as the six of them clambered into the back of her magically enlarged car—_he _knew that all six of their pockets were filled with fireworks.

Al and Rose struck up a conversation about plans for this get-together. Scorpius listened in from time to time, once in a while catching things like "swimming in the lake" and "Uncle Charlie's water gun" and "Teddy and Victoire should seriously get married!"

Meanwhile, on his left, James, Fred, and Dom had their heads together and were obviously conspiring. Scorpius knew better than to find out what they were talking about. But judging from their bulging pockets, Scorpius reckoned he'd find out sooner or later.

Scorpius ended up talking to Mrs. Potter.

"I hear you're a chaser," Mrs. Potter said, glancing at him from the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah, I am," Scorpius said in a small voice.

"I was a chaser, too," Mrs. Potter said, smiling slightly, almost to herself.

"I know," Scorpius nodded fervently. "My mum used to watch all your games. She's a major Harpies fan. It sort of drives my father insane."

Mrs. Potter laughed.

"Oh, Astoria. I remember her from school. She was a year younger than me, and was probably the only Slytherin at Hogwarts I ever respected in all my years there," Mrs. Potter said reminiscently.

She made a sharp turn and parked outside of a rickety white fence. Scorpius looked up. His jaw dropped.

He was looking at an unnaturally tall house that was so crooked that Scorpius half expected it to collapse at any moment; Scorpius supposed it was held up by magic. Extra rooms had been added here, making the house look even more warped and twisted than it actually was, and five or six chimneys grazed the many roofs. To add to this fine display of warmth and welcome, a lopsided sign was stuck in the dirt right outside the fence that read 'The Burrow.'

Malfoy Manor was huge with at least one hundred rooms, located on a sprawling lot, complete with trees, millions of gardens, and peacocks.

But Scorpius felt that compared to this, Malfoy Manor was nothing.


	10. The Special Announcement

Author's Note: I love writing about Christmas and The Burrow, so put them together and I'm in literary heaven.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

December 24, 2018

Scorpius stared around at his surroundings at awe—the overgrown garden, the chickens pecking their way through the yard, and the many little gnomes that were peering at him from behind tree trunks. He loved how cluttered the place was compared to his own house, where not a thing was ever out of place.

He tripped slightly as he entered the house, straightened himself out, and then almost fell over again as what looked like a red fireball flew past him and hit Al square in the stomach.

"Oof!" Al cried as he tumbled to the ground. But far from being annoyed, Al grinned, and ruffled the red fireball. "Hey, Lils!"

Looking closer, Scorpius realized that the fiery-looking object was a_ person_, and Al's little sister at that.

"Hi," Scorpius said, smiling at the girl. She looked almost exactly like Mrs. Potter with the same brilliant brown eyes, although her hair was a few shades darker than all the Weasleys'.

"Hi," she said, blushing slightly. "James!" she cried, spotting her brother stumbling through the doorway, with his oddly heavy trunk in tow—Scorpius vaguely wondered what James had inside it.

"How's my little Lily-flower?" he said, picking up his wiry little sister and spinning her around. "Wanna help me, Fred, and Dom prank Al and his friend?"

"Of course," Lily said with a malicious wink.

"I've taught you well," he said, returning the wink and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

It only took Scorpius a few hours really to love the way things worked at the Burrow. Everything was chaotic, and no one had any problem shouting or, in James's case, throwing things across the room.

Scorpius loved the way Al's grandparents were so relaxed and watched their family messing around contentedly. His own grandparents were very strict—especially Grandfather Lucius.

Scorpius loved how James and Fred never lost an opportunity to prank someone, loved how the Golden Trio acted like three very normal best friends, loved how even Molly Weasley—who rarely got on with her family—was grinning from ear to ear at the madness that surrounded her.

But most of all, he loved how _almost_ everyone—Rose's dad seemed to hate him with a burning passion—was so nice to him. Scorpius had grown up surrounded by hate and prejudice. His father hadn't even allowed him out in public until he was almost seven because of the way things were.

"Here Scorpius, dear, this is for you," Al's Grandmum said kindly, handing Scorpius a lumpy parcel.

"Th—thanks," Scorpius stuttered.

"Put it on," Al said as he walked into the room and saw the parcel in Scorpius's arms.

Scorpius looked up to see Al sporting a new emerald green jumper. Ripping off the wrapping paper, Scorpius gasped as brown jumper—Al's grandmother must've wanted it to match his eyes—with an intricately embroidered 'S' on the front came into view.

"Yours is better than ours," James said, walking into the room with Fred following closely behind. "She obviously puts more effort into her knitting if you're not in the Weasley-Potter clan."

"And _you_ haven't got a letter on yours," Fred noted, examining Al's jumper.

"She probably thinks you don't fail to remember your name," James nodded.

"But we're not thick—,"

"—we know our names are Frames and Jed."

Scorpius gave a snort of laughter as Al rolled his eyes, though giving a grudging smile nonetheless.

If Scorpius had thought that Hogwarts had the best food, he must've been mental, for no cooking was more delicious than the cooking he was eating now.

Piling his plate high with roast potatoes, chicken, cranberry sauce, and salad, Scorpius looked interestedly around the table, listening to the different conversations at bay.

"…honestly, Bill, you're forty-eight," Grandma Weasley was saying in a disapproving voice, "it's high time you trimmed this ridiculous hair of yours."

Scorpius, whose first impression of Bill had been how cool his hair was, just grinned as Bill smiled in a slightly exasperated manner.

"Teddy, do the one that looks like a pig," Lily was saying enthusiastically on his right and Scorpius turned just in time to see Teddy Lupin sporting a pig's snout.

Lily and her cousin Hugo rolled around laughing, and Teddy, spotting Scorpius's gaping, said proudly, "I'm a metamorphmagus. Means I can change my appearance at will."

Scorpius felt a twinge of jealousy as he turned away. If _he_ was a metamorphamagus, he would be able to change the platinum blonde hair that made everyone narrow their eyes at him.

"Let's light them after dinner," James was saying brightly—a little _too_ brightly.

"Yeah, that makes sense. After dinner, Nana Molly'll be too tired and full to murder us," Dominique said knowledgeably, and Fred nodded.

"Excuse me," a calm voice announced. "I'd like to make an announcement."

Scorpius looked up. Victoire Weasley, Al's gorgeous part-Veela cousin, had stood up and swung her long, silvery blonde hair past her shoulders.

Scorpius had made the mistake of standing too close to her earlier that day and had gotten a full blast of her Veela charm as she'd strode past him, her shimmering hair practically floating behind her. He probably would've fainted if Rose hadn't given him a resounding slap on the cheek. What a great friend she was.

Now the entire family was looking up at her expectantly.

She grinned. "Teddy and I are getting married!" she squealed. "Tomorrow!"


	11. Congratulations, Teddy and Victoire!

Author's Note: All my comments for this chapter said 'Tomorrow?' Very sudden, I know, but it's the Weasleys—anything is possible there, and I just really wanted some Teddy and Victoire in this story.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

December 24, 2018

"Tomorrow?" Al's grandmum sounded incredulous.

"Tomorrow?" Bill, Victoire's dad, echoed, half-disbelieving, half-furious. "Are you insane, Victoire? You're eighteen—,"

"So?" Victoire shrugged. "It's going to happen anyway, so why not now?"

"And how on Earth do you expect us to plan a wedding in one night, young lady?" Al's grandmum wanted to know, putting her hands on her hips expectantly as she stood up.

Scorpius glanced around the room at the many shocked and disapproving faces. Al's father looked like he'd recently been slapped in the face with a frying pan. Scorpius figured that no matter how much Al and Rose had been wanting Teddy and Victoire to marry, this was more than a little disconcerting.

"Nothing big, Nana Molly," Victoire pleaded. "In fact," Victoire hesitated, glancing at Teddy, "we were planning on doing it at the Ministry—,"

"There is absolutely no way I'm letting my first grandchild get married at the Ministry," Nana Molly interjected firmly, and there was a murmur of assent.

"In that case," Victoire continued, "let's not do anything grand. A small ceremony with just family. Everyone who's already here."

There was a pause as everyone in the room contemplated this.

"And how long exactly have you two been planning this?" a middle-aged witch with wavy, dark brown hair and sharp eyes asked from the middle of the table.

"Gran," Teddy cringed.

"Answer me, Mister," she said impatiently.

"Er, a couple days… give or take a couple days," Teddy finished sheepishly.

Teddy's grandmother swelled up angrily.

"Now, now, Andromeda,"—the name seemed to prickle something in Scorpius's memory—"calm down," Al's grandfather said in a soothing voice. "They seem to know what they're doing… don't you?" he demanded, a rather penetrating gaze surfacing on his face.

Teddy and Victoire nodded fervently.

"Well, I'm all for it, then," Al's grandfather said, leaning back in his chair and shrugging.

"But Dad—," Bill argued.

"Come off it, Bill," Al's grandfather said, raising an eyebrow at his son. "Fleur wasn't much older than Victoire is now when you two got married."

Bill seemed lost for words. Sighing heavily, he nodded reluctantly to his daughter. "Well… if you must," he said inelegantly.

"Thanks, Dad, you won't regret it, I promise," Victoire said, leaning across the table and kissing her father's cheek. He looked a little happier.

"But this'll involve so much work!" Al's grandmum exclaimed, jumping up from her seat as people began excusing themselves. "First of all, we'll have to work on the guest list. You said just family, didn't you? I'll need to Owl the Delacours immediately. And Andromeda, how about your family—," she stopped short, noticing the obviously unwilling look on Teddy's grandmother's face.

"You don't want to invite them, do you?" Al's grandmum asked.

"Come on, Molly, be reasonable," Andromeda scoffed. "How ridiculous would the Malfoys look at my grandson's wedding?"

Scorpius suddenly realized who Andromeda was—she was Andromeda Tonks, his grandmother's sister. She'd seen her charred name on the Black Family Tapestry in their study at Malfoy Manor several times.

"Well, one of them is already here, in case you didn't notice," Al's grandmum said, gesturing to where Scorpius was sitting at the table.

"He seems alright," Andromeda admitted. "But—,"

"The war happened a while ago, Andromeda," Al's grandmum said. "I think it's time you forgave and forgot."

"Fine," Andromeda mumbled. "I'll go send my sister an Owl, but don't expect them to show up."

Scorpius felt his stomach clench. His family was invited? This could not bode well.

Scorpius wandered vacantly into the living room where most of Al's family had seated themselves. The adults were once again laughing and gamboling, although Bill kept shooting Teddy covertly irate glances.

Grandmum Weasley, Fleur, and Victoire were sitting in the corner of the room, obviously discussing the next day's plans.

Harry was talking to Teddy, and judging from their serious expressions, they too were reviewing tomorrow's arrangements.

Al and Rose were playing Exploding Snap. And Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley were playing Gobstones with the other younger Weasley cousins whom Scorpius didn't know.

"BOOM!"

Scorpius swiveled around and saw James and Fred standing with at least a dozen fireworks in their arms, grinning hugely.

Suddenly sparks were flying all around the room—and not just from the fireworks, for Scorpius was sure he saw angry sparks flying from James's and Fred's mother's eyes as well.

But Scorpius had to say that it was indeed a fabulous display of fireworks. The glowing works of art zooming around made the house look even pleasant.

At the end of this magnificent exhibitition, four words displayed themselves in glowing letters that read 'Congratulations, Teddy and Victoire!'

There was a splattering of applause, and Victoire and Teddy beamed.

James and Fred took deep bows. James spoke first. "We wanted to carry on the tradition of the Weasley troublemakers. We heard from Nana Molly that Uncle George and our late Uncle Fred used to do this every Christmas, and we couldn't resist."

Scorpius turned to see Fred's dad, George Weasley, smiling widely with tear tracks glinting on his cheeks.

"And if our firework-based message wasn't clear enough," Fred added, "we would just like to say—Congratulations, Teddy and Victoire!"


	12. A Very Weasley Wedding

Author's Note: I haven't worked on this story in a while. Anyway, this chapter was quite easy to write, seeing as its a wedding and I love writing them.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

December 25, 2018

Al grumbled as he threw on his dress robes. "I hate these things," he complained, tugging irately at his collar.

"Oh, will you quit with the nagging," James snapped, yawning widely as he too slipped into his robes.

Fred raised an eyebrow at his cousin. "Looks like somebody woke up the wrong side of the bed today."

"_Somebody_ wakes up on the wrong side of the bed everyday unless it's after ten," Al rolled his eyes.

"What?" James asked defensively. "I'm not a morning person."

"That, my dear cousin, is a bit of an understatement," Fred said, smirking at James.

Scorpius, who was wearing Al's dress robes—which were rather tight for him due to Al's excessive scrawniness—was surveying the old marquee that Al's grandmother had dug out from her attic this morning through the window in the bedroom that he shared with Fred, James, and Al.

It had been a very sentimental moment, and both Al's grandmum and Victoire's mum had burst into tears at the sight of the large tent. It was apparently the same marquee they'd used when Victoire's _parents_ had been joined in holy matrimony.

"Why did Victoire and Teddy have to get married this Christmas?" James was whining. "I mean even so, why couldn't they have waited until around noon?"

"That's around the time he starts to consider getting out of bed in the morning," Al muttered to Scorpius. Scorpius grinned good-humoredly

The four boys ambled down the stairs, James complaining under his breath all the way. Al actually had to smack him upside the head to get him to shut up.

"Ah, there you four are," Mrs. Potter said as the small procession exited through the front door and into the yard. "I need you to help seat the guests," she said, handing the four of them some very complicated-looking seating charts.

James stared disbelievingly at the chart in his hands. "What's _this_? I thought you said it was just family—,"

"It is just family," Mrs. Potter shrugged. "Our family and Fleur's family—which just happens to consist of about thirty-odd Veela cousins who just _couldn't miss_ this occasion," she finished rather crossly, eyeing the seating chart murderously.

"And don't forget all of Victoire's Hufflepuff friends who are currently fighting over the Bridesmaids' positions," Rose's mum added, sauntering up to them and wearing an equally bad-tempered expression. "I was just up in Vic's room, and two girls were practically dueling over a Bridesmaids' dress using some very, er, _colorful_ language."

"Why did she have to be such a Social Butterfly?" Mrs. Potter mumbled.

"You're one to talk," Al said with raised eyebrows, and Mrs. Potter blushed a little, ruffling her son's hair fondly.

Just then, Dominique Weasley exited the house wearing a sparkly blue dress that Scorpius had never, in a million years, thought he'd see on Dom.

Dominqiue didn't look particularly happy about wearing the dress either and she growled at James and Fred when they burst out laughing, earning them both disapproving looks from Mrs. Potter and Rose's mum.

"It's not funny," Dom snapped, straightening out her dress. Scorpius had to admit that she carried it off beautifully. Her usually uneven strawberry blonde hair hung round her head in bouncy curls, framing her face stunningly and she seemed to emanate a slight glow—perhaps it was the Veela genes coming out in her.

The door to the Burrow opened again and a few girls that Scorpius didn't know stepped out, giggling madly. They were all wearing dresses that were identical to Dom's, obviously being bridesmaids themselves. Suddenly, one of the girls detached themselves from the group and walked towards them.

She was beautiful. She looked quite young, actually—probably only around his age. And her red hair—so vivid it made Scorpius wonder if she was a Weasley second-cousin—was tied in a loose, but elegant knot in the back of her head. Curls shot out of the knot like a fountain and cascaded carelessly down her back. She smiled at Scorpius, a very familiar, genuine smile…

"Hi, Mum!" the girl said, hugging Rose's mum.

"Mum?" Scorpius questioned under his breath, shocked out of his wits.

Glancing at the girl again, Scorpius felt the realization of the moment wash over him. The girl was Rose. But she didn't look like Rose. Not at all. She'd obviously done something with her near-impossible-to-tame hair and her teeth… her teeth were straight and smaller. Now that he thought about it, the difference was quite noticeable.

"Hi, Rosie," Rose's mum said affectionately, returning Rose's hug.

Scorpius looked around at Al, James, and Fred, all of whom were gawking at Rose, as if unable to believe that this stunning girl was their cousin.

"Close your mouths," she snapped at them. "You'll catch flies."

Scorpius grinned to himself. Same old Rose.

"They're coming!" Mrs. Potter said suddenly and Scorpius turned to see a group of well-dressed wizards appearing one by one down the garden path.

"Here," Mrs. Potter said, thrusting one seating chart each into the arms of James, Al, Fred and himself, apparently turning a deaf ear to James's immediate grumbling. "Come, girls," she addressed Dominique and Rose. "You'll need to get in your positions."

Scorpius dropped into his assigned seat half-an-hour later feeling utterly exhausted. He'd just seated about twenty of Victoire's second cousins, all of whom had been speaking to him either in French or in English with an extremely thick French accent.

He exchanged a world-weary look with Al, who had just situated himself in the seat next to Scorpius. "There are so many of them," Al muttered, glancing up as yet another Veela girl swished past him, almost knocking him out.

James and Fred sat down on Scorpius's other side. Both looked murderous. "Can you believe that woman?"

"She's a nightmare, she really is," Fred replied, seething.

"Muriel?" Al inquired with a knowing look.

Fred and James nodded darkly.

"She just told me that my hair looks like it's been hit with a dysfunctional transfiguration spell," James fumed.

"Hate to break it to you," Al said, stifling laughter. "But she's right."

"Hark at who's talking," Scorpius rolled his eyes, eying Al's equally untidy hair.

But before Al could come up with a suitable retaliation, however, music began playing from somewhere ahead of them.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp and Scorpius swiveled around in his seat to see Victoire Weasley walking down the aisle, clutching the crook of her father's elbow. If Scorpius had thought that Dominique was glowing today, he'd been insane, for Victoire seemed to genuinely radiate light.

Victoire glided down the aisle, beaming, her eyes focused on the one person ahead of her. Teddy Lupin stood at the head of the aisle, grinning from ear to ear as he held out a hand and gently tugged his wife-to-be a little closer.

Scorpius's eyes flickered away from the wedding and to where Rose Weasley was standing beside Victoire, smiling in a slightly vague way as she watched her cousin give her vows. Scorpius's eyes lingered on her for a while, taking in the way her head was cocked to one side and the way tear tracks were already glittering on her otherwise pristine cheeks.

"Do you, Ted Remus, take Victoire Apolline...,"

Scorpius saw Andromeda Tonks burst into tears in the front row, Al's grandmum and Victoire's mum quick to follow.

"…then I declare you bonded for life."

Scorpius, Al, James, and Fred led an enthusiastic round of applause from their seats and Fred gave a wolf-whistle as Teddy leaned in to kiss the new Mrs. Lupin.

Scorpius got up as the ceremony came to an end and was just about to find himself a seat at one of the many tables that had appeared out of thin air, when a very familiar figure allowing them self in through the garden gate caught his eye.


	13. Sisters' Reconciliation

Author's Note: I need to update more consistently. I'll try, I really will. Homework is virtually being thrown at me by my teachers, though, and I'm only able to update on weekends, not to mention my lack of inspiration lately. Writers' Block, I suppose.

And to everyone who guessed that the lady at the gate was Narcissa Malfoy, you were right. Am I that predictable? Maybe _you_ are all just geniuses.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

December 25, 2018

Scorpius's eyes very nearly shot out of their sockets with astonishment as the figure—a woman—strode hesitantly down the path, sweeping her long, elegant blonde hair behind her shoulders. Her light blue eyes scanned the garden intently; Scorpius knew she was looking for him. He hastily looked away.

"Come on, Scorp," Al said, flinging an arm around his shoulders and attempting to drag the blonde boy away from where he was apparently fastened to the ground, staring dazedly over at the garden gate. Al followed Scorpius's gaze over to the gate, where the blonde woman now stood, eyes darting uncertainly from where Teddy and Victoire stood amongst many well-wishers to where her sister stood, dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief.

Al's mouth fell into a perfect 'O.' "Isn't that your—,"

"Yeah," Scorpius confirmed with a nod, paling as Narcissa Malfoy began gliding down the Burrow's grassy backyard lawn, clasping and unclasping her hands timidly.

Al stared blankly at the woman. "Should—should we tell someone?"

"Er," Scorpius hesitated. What would they say? He gave an involuntary shudder, imagining the reactions of the Weasleys and Potters if he told them that Narcissa Malfoy had come to hang about.

"I'll tell Dad," Al decided. And before Scorpius could say a word, Al had scampered through the crowd to where Harry Potter stood, an arm thrown affectionately around his godson's shoulders.

"Al," Scorpius hissed to no one in particular. "You prat."

Scorpius watched with growing anxiety as Harry Potter raised an eyebrow incredulously and traced Al's pointed finger to where Scorpius's grandmother was standing, one hand twisted around a marquee pole.

Al's father then patted Al distractedly on the back and made his way over to where Andromeda Tonks stood with Al's grandmum and Fleur's mother.

He muttered something in her ear—Scorpius's grandmother's whereabouts, no doubt—and Mrs. Tonks's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes immediately flickered to her sister. Scorpius saw Al's grandmother smile smugly and mouth something to Mrs. Tonks that looked extraordinarily like, "I told you so."

Scorpius had to give it to her. He'd been sure that his grandparents would've taken one look at the invitation and uncomfortably made up some excuse as to why they couldn't attend.

But here stood Narcissa. Sheer proof that she'd not declined the invite.

And now Andromeda Tonks was hurrying across the field, brown hair flying behind her in a rippling mass. "Narcissa?" she questioned disbelievingly.

Narcissa jumped, a hand fluttering to her heart, as she swiveled around, coming face-to-face with her estranged sister. "Andromeda," she said weakly, chest heaving as she took deep, calming breaths. "You gave me such a fright."

"Sorry, sorry," Mrs. Tonks said. "Do come inside."

Narcissa hesitated and then swept after Andromeda into the Burrow.

"Wonder what they're talking about," Al frowned, putting into words exactly what Scorpius had been thinking.

Scorpius shrugged, wishing he could find out what.

"Want to find out?" Al asked slyly, with an uncharacteristically devilish grin, making him look more like his brother than Scorpius had ever seen him before.

"Alright," Scorpius said warily.

"Oi, James!" Al called out.

James seemed materialize out of thin air, Fred at his shoulder. "Yes, little brother?"

"I need the cloak," Al declared, hold out a hand expectantly.

Scorpius was confused. Cloak?

"No can do, Albie," James cooed loftily.

Al's patient demeanor vanished, his eyes narrowing, fists clenching. "James," Al growled. "Give—me—the—cloak." Al punctuated each word with a seething breath.

James stumbled backwards, eyes widening momentarily. Then he grinned. "Well," he said in a pleased voice, pulling a small parcel out of his dress robes and thrusting it in Al's outstretched hands. "I guess you inherited more of Mum's temper than we all thought. Good on ya, mate!" James finished in an appalling attempt at an Australian accent.

Al rolled his eyes as his brother and cousin scurried away. Then, he ripped open the parcel, pulling out from within it a cloak of almost liquid, silvery material. And with a whoosh and a flash of silver, Al was gone.

Scorpius gaped at the spot where Al had vanished.

"We haven't got all day you know," Al's impatient voice sounded from absolutely nowhere.

Scorpius felt his eyes widen in utter shock as Al's head poked out from under layers and layers of nothingness. The eyes on Al's bodiless head rolled; he heard a sigh and then an arm grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Suddenly, Al was right next to him.

"What the—,"

"It's an invisibility cloak," Al explained as he and Scorpius stealthily made their way across the grassy turf, trying not to bump into anything or attract attention. Scorpius thought he saw Al's father's eyes intently following the two of them across the lawn; his stomach lurched.

Al took a quick look around and then quietly opened the door, stepping inside the house and pulling Scorpius in after.

"What was that?" a voice asked.

"The door," Andromeda Tonks said, and Scorpius held his breath as the elegant woman paced past them and closed the door, staring swiftly around the room.

"Are you sure this makes us—," Scorpius began, but Al shot him a look which plainly said 'be quiet or I'll kick your arse.' Scorpius obliged.

"Come on," Al muttered, following the retreating figure of Mrs. Tonks into the living room.

Narcissa was seated in one of the Burrow's warm, comfortable-looking arm chair. She looked quite out of place against the friendly-looking, maroon fabric in her customary pale shades of blue and green. She sat on the edge of her settlement, obviously ill at ease.

"Now, what were you saying?" Andromeda wanted to know, dropping into the couch across from her sister. The two were as unalike in looks as two sisters could possibly get, but Scorpius thought he could see similarities in the deepest of their features and mannerisms.

"I was wondering," Narcissa began. "If—if you hate—,"

"Hate you?" Andromeda asked, a wry smile curving her lips.

"Well," Narcissa swallowed. "Yes."

"Interesting question," Andromeda said dryly, and Narcissa opened her mouth, closing it again moments later, seemingly lost for words. "I don't hate you."

Narcissa looked up slowly, blue eyes swollen, and Scorpius saw the ghost of an astonished glance beneath her deathly pale, striking features.

"I have every reason to, believe me," Andromeda continued, leaning back in her chair and studying Narcissa with an almost accusing gaze. "But I don't."

"Why?"

It was one word. But so many emotions played within it—confusion, distress, relief—that it seemed to fill the entire room, hanging over them, waiting to be answered.

"Because," Andromeda sighed, closing her eyes. "Because I've already lost so much. What's the point of losing more?" She opened her eyes. "Hate makes you lose things, Narcissa. Bellatrix,"—Narcissa gave a violent shudder—"lost her life because of hate. Hate makes you lose yourself. Why should I lose more than I already have?"

Narcissa's face showed evident signs of guiltiness. She opened her mouth, looking on the verge of speech.

"Don't apologize," Andromeda said tersely. "It's not your fault."

"I'm sorry," Narcissa said quietly, paying no heed to Andromeda's order. "I'm sorry I let our parents disown you—,"

"As if you had a choice," Andromeda snorted derisively. She softened her voice. "I'm glad you didn't intervene. I needed to rid myself of those repulsive relatives anyway."

Narcissa looked just the slightest bit hurt.

"But you're not _so_ bad, per say," Andromeda said with a wink.

Narcissa gave a tentative half-smile, which Andromeda returned, eyes twinkling. Scorpius couldn't help himself; he grinned, too.

"That's sweet," a feminine voice from his right muttered.

Scorpius gasped and spun around. Instead of coming to face Al, as he thought he should have, he saw Rose standing next to him, eyes bright and lips turned upwards as she observed the two sisters reconcile.


	14. Holding Hands

Author's Note: The first romantic moment shared by Rose and Scorpius. I love how innocent they are. This is far from being the only romantic moment shared by the two. Although, I do want to mention that they shall soon be adopting a rather Ron/Hermione relationship, with lots of bickering included. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Hermione and Ron's incessant arguing began in their third year. Well, the third year of Rose, Scorpius is going to start in the next chapter, and I assure you, it won't be all hearts and butterflies.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

December 25, 2018

"How in the name of Merlin did you get here?" Scorpius hissed. "Where's Al?"

"He had to pee," Rose explained, shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't think you'd appreciate looking to your right and seeing that your best friend had abandoned you. But I didn't think you'd much prefer Al using you as a toilet either."

"Too true," Scorpius muttered. "But how did you know we were here?"

"One tends to become suspicious when two invisible forces are making footprints in the snow and the Burrow door opens on its own accord," Rose rolled her eyes.

Scorpius flushed. They probably should've been more conscientious while executing their plan.

"…know where that grandson of mine is?" Narcissa was asking Andromeda, as both sisters rose from their seats.

Both Rose and Scorpius squirmed uncomfortably in their positions against the wall, pressing themselves still more vigorously against it.

"No, I haven't seen him since he and the other boys were seating the guests," Andromeda frowned. "I suppose you didn't see him when you arrived, did you?"

"No," Narcissa looked worried. "Does anyone else have the slightest inkling as to where he might've run off too? I hope he didn't leave because I came—,"

"Far from it, actually," a voice said from the doorway.

And both Rose and Scorpius turned to see Al's father walk into the room, an arm tightly clamped around his younger son's shoulders. Al was looking profusely guilty and Scorpius knew at once that his father had somehow managed to worm the truth out of him.

Rose and Scorpius exchanged a fleetingly terrified glance.

Fortunately Harry Potter wasn't looking angry. In fact, his expression was actually one of amusement as he strode across the threshold.

"Apparently, Scorpius was so inclined to spend time with you that he had absolutely no choice but to follow you into your house and… _accidentally_ overhear the entire conversation between you and Andromeda," Harry shrugged, eyes twinkling.

So, Harry Potter did humor. Evidently the pictures they printed of him in the Daily Prophet, where his expressions were always either solemn or determined, weren't all that accurate.

Harry moved closer and closer to where they stood crouched against the wall, their breaths short and uneven and faces a deathly pale. He reached out and his fingers closed around the cloak that sheltered the pair; Rose instinctively grabbed for Scorpius's hand, petite fingers digging severely into his pale forearm.

And for some reason unknown to Scorpius, he blushed.

The only thing that Scorpius liked about his Malfoy-based appearance was the fact that his face rarely acquired any color. Even when he was furious or as embarrassed as he could possible get, there was no real difference made to his cheeks.

But now there was. Scorpius could feel it; he could feel his cheeks reddening, could feel his heart racing.

And most oddly was the strange tingling sensation that her touch seemed to transfer to his arm.

Scorpius couldn't, for the love of Merlin, understand what this meant. He glanced at Rose, wondering whether she'd felt half of what he had. He couldn't tell, for her expression was rather vacant, but Scorpius was sure that the increasing red color being applied to her ears was more out of the awkwardness of the current situation than fear that her uncle was going to be upset with her.

In a flash, Scorpius and Rose were exposed to the word, both cringing, eyes squeezed shut with terror. And they were holding hands.

There was a pregnant pause. Then, the pair opened their eyes.

"Erm," Al blurted out, coughing for good measure, and running a hand bewilderedly through his disheveled black hair. "Is there a reason you two are holding on to each other for dear life or…" he trailed off.

Harry had a raised eyebrow, still grasping his son's shoulder with one arm and now clasping the Invisibility Cloak in his other.

Narcissa and Andromeda were both wearing comically identical disbelieving looks, and it took a moment for Scorpius to realize that the gazes were directed at the firm grip that Scorpius and Rose had on each others' arms. Blushing yet more deeply, Scorpius hurriedly dropped her hand, determinedly avoiding her gaze.

"Promise me one thing, Al," Harry muttered to his son, shaking his head with amusement.

"What?"

"_Never_ tell your Uncle Ron about this."


	15. An Unpleasant Start to the Year

Author's Note: Not too terribly fond of this chapter. It's THIRD YEAR now, in case any of you might get confused.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**Year III**

September 1, 2019

Scorpius stood outside Potter Manor, taking in the warm sunlight and blissfully admiring the pleasant village of Godric's Hollow in which the Potter family lived.

Their little sister, Lily, was starting Hogwarts this year and she looked like she was positively glowing with sheer happiness as she brightly made her way to the car. She was small and slender and her dark red hair was tied up sweetly in two pigtails.

The four children scrambled into the back of the car, laughing frivolously.

"I bet Rose is going to be keeper this year, now that Melinda's graduated," James predicted.

Albus glanced sideways at Scorpius, who was determinedly looking anywhere else. Ever since the awkward situation that Rose and Scorpius had gotten themselves into in the Burrow the previous Christmas, Al had drilled it into his own head that Scorpius _fancied_ Rose.

_Rubbish_, Scorpius thought firmly to himself. _Where in Merlin's name did Al come up with these ridiculous ideas?_

James looked from Scorpius to Al perplexedly. "What?"

"Nothing," Scorpius said hurriedly, hastily steering the conversation back to safe ground. "But who's going to be captain?"

"Either Fred, Dom, or me," James said thoughtfully. "Seeing as we're all in fourth year, and are, therefore, the oldest and most _mature_ members on the team."

Al snorted and shook his head fervently. "If James is captain, I'm resigning."

"Oh, ha ha," James laughed sarcastically. "Well, it most definitely won't be Fred since he's got_ no_ mental focus, whatsoever."

"Well, Dominique, then," Al said.

The three boys exchanged nervous glances. Dominique had a bit of a double personality; one side was sweet and mischievous, whereas the other was snarky and forceful. They were pretty sure they wouldn't be seeing a lot of the first side if Dom was made captain.

They reached King's Cross Station shortly and made their way to Platform 9 ¾. Scorpius was utterly ecstatic to _finally_ be able to go back to Hogwarts, his home.

Lily dashed away to go and meet up with the numerous younger Weasley cousins who were also apparently starting this year. Fred Weasley showed up a moment later with his little sister, Roxanne, who was apparently one of them. She had curly red hair, tanned skin, and an impish grin to match her brother's.

Hugo and Lily showed up shortly and dragged Roxanne off towards the Hogwarts Express, the three of them chattering intensely about the houses they wanted to be sorted into.

Scorpius saw the other two first-year Weasley cousins talking quietly together. Lucy Weasley wore overly large, horn-rimmed glasses over her big brown eyes and had the trademark Weasley vivid, red hair while Louis, her companion, had silvery-blond hair like his elder sister Victoire, which was constantly falling in his bright blue eyes almost rakishly.

"So, shall we get a compartment then?" Scorpius suggested, eyeing James and Fred suspiciously. They'd already put their heads together to plan what Scorpius was sure was a fail-safe plot to earn themselves the fastest detention in Hogwarts history.

Al rolled his eyes exasperatedly at his brother and cousin and smirked at Scorpius, "Let's get going, then. You don't want to be late for your little date with Rose."

Scorpius shoved him, a pink tinge already appearing on his pale cheeks.

After many last-minute hugs and kisses, the four boys slowly made their way into the train. As they began their quest for a compartment, Scorpius tripped and fell marvelously, landing entirely on top of poor Rose, who had just moments ago come outside of her compartment to greet them.

"Try a more subtle move next time, mate," Al whispered to Scorpius, sniggering under his breath.

Scorpius seethed in silence as he offered a hand to Rose, although managing to spare a wrathful hiss in Al's direction

Fortunately, a diversion came in the form Dominique Weasley running down the aisle, a shiny, new Quidditch Captain badge pinned firmly to her rippling cloak.

"I'm the captain!" she squealed exuberantly. James groaned loudly.

Smacking her cousin soundly on the head and throwing him an irate look, she turned to Rose. "You're the keeper."

* * *

The three third years cheerfully made their way to the Great Hall.

"We get our course schedules tomorrow," Scorpius said brightly. "I signed up for everything."

"Lunatic," Al muttered under his breath.

Professor Longbottom, who seemed to have overheard Scorpius's earlier remark, called out, "Weasley, Malfoy, over here if you please."

The pair walked over to her, both exchanging baffled glances with Albus, who continued into the Great Hall for dinner.

"I'm sorry you two, but you both have signed up for much too many elective classes," he explained with an air of amusement. "Divination, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, _and_ Care of Magical Creatures? Do you both want to go insane?"

"What? No, I can't drop any classes!" Rose looked close to tears.

"Please, Professor, there has to be _some_ way we can fit them into our schedule," Scorpius pleaded.

"Oh, don't be absurd, you two," Neville scolded mildly, peering down at them skeptically. "Rose, I suggest you drop Muggle Studies and Divination. You know all about muggles and as for divination,"—he smirked—"it's a very useless subject, quite frankly. But please don't tell Sybill I said that." He chuckled.

Rose smiled vaguely and nodded reluctantly, looking quite downcast.

"You'd be better off dropping some subjects as well, Mr. Malfoy," Neville said, turning on his heel and sweeping out of the entrance hall to greet the new first years.

"This—is—all—your—fault!" Rose said at once, rounding on Scorpius, and punctuating each angry word with a fierce jab in his chest.

"_My _fault? How in Merlin's is this _my_ fault?" Scorpius retaliated, though at the same time utterly taken aback. He and Rose hadn't had these spats in a while now.

"If you hadn't mentioned course schedules, he might have let it slide," she spat, narrowing her eyes. "But _no_... you just _had_ to go and blab... like you did last year, which made Al hate me for a week!"

"WELL, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SAID THE AWFUL THING IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Scorpius roared, throwing his hands up in frustration, and completely incensed that Rose would throw those horrible first weeks of last year back in his face.

Rose screeched shrilly, "YOU STUPID GIT. YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS THAT YOU'RE NEVER TOP OF THE CLASS!"

"_JEALOUS—_" Scorpius began incredulously.

But—

"_Silence_!" a stern voice rang out.


	16. Sorting Out Issues

Author's Note: I feel _awful_; I haven't updated in _weeks_ now.

EDIT 22/10/11: I'm fixing this story up a bit for grammar and spelling mistakes, just to make it better. Also, I'm adding the date of each chapter's occurrence in the beginning of each one, the reason being because I realized that sometimes my chapters switch abruptly between Rose and Scorpius's school years, and I merely don't want to confuse you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 1, 2019

Scorpius looked up, alarmed. Headmistress Sprout, as well as Professors McGonagall and Longbottom were standing at the entrance to the Great Hall looking by far angrier than Scorpius had ever seen them. Along with them stood at least half the school, as well as the entire new population of first-years.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Longbottom asked coldly, surveying Rose and Scorpius sharply. Scorpius swore he saw sparks fly out her severe green eyes behind her infamous square spectacles.

"She started it!" Scorpius yelled desperately, pointing to Rose. It was quite unfortunate that, at that very moment, Rose decided to mirror his actions and shout, "He started it!"

"It is no concern of mine who started it," Minerva McGongall snapped. "You deal with this," she said with a meaningful glance in Professor Longbottom's direction. "I'll take the new lot."

"Detention. My office. _Now_," Neville Longbottom said with uncharacteristic sternness.

Behind him, Al shot Scorpius a sympathetic look, while, standing next to him, James and Fred looked completely furious that Scorpius had managed to get Hogwarts's fastest detention without even attempting.

Two minutes later found Scorpius sitting cross-armed next to a livid-looking Rose.

Professor Longbottom shut the door and sat down in front of the two children. "What were you two _thinking_?"

Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat while Scorpius looked down at his feet, highly embarrassed. What _had_ he been thinking? Wait a minute. He hadn't started this in the first place—

"Well?" Professor Longbottom pressed, tapping his foot impatiently.

" I—er—_we_ weren't thinking," Rose said in a strangled whisper.

_Speak for yourself_, Scorpius thought sardonically, shooting an irate look to the girl on his right.

"Clearly," Professor Longbottom sighed wearily. "Well, looks like I'll have to leave you two to your own devices. What I don't understand is how you guys go from being best friends one year to mortal enemies the next."

Scorpius ran a hand uneasily through his hair. Where_ had_ this brawl suddenly erupted from?

"Er, Nev—Professor," Rose said submissively. "What exactly do you mean by leaving us to our own devices?"

"Well, seeing as Minerva would kill me if I brought you down to the feast after the little shouting match you just exhibited, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you two up here," Professor Longbottom sighed, clapping his hands twice.

A house elf appeared with a resounding crack.

"Please bring some leftovers up for these two," Professor Longbottom addressed the elf kindly; the elf subsequently bowed deeply and disappeared.

"In the meantime, please do try and work out your issues," Professor Longbottom instructed, leaving the room with a swish of his cloak and the click of a closing door.

Rose sighed sadly, face falling considerably. "We're missing the feast."

"I know," Scorpius shook his head.

The house elf reappeared with a platter of sandwiches and Scorpius grabbed one and took an enormous, hungry bite.

Rose raised an eyebrow at him, fighting back a snigger.

"Wha'?" Scorpius demanded, grabbing a second sandwich. "I' 'ungry!"

Rose giggled, grabbing a sandwich for herself and muttering something along the lines of, "…just like my dad…"

"So," Scorpius exhaled contentedly minutes later, wiping his mouth on his robes. "Should we get to work on sorting out our—what was it—issues?"

Rose shook her head, an exasperated smile creeping up our face. "What issues?" she asked innocently.

Scorpius grinned.

"I really don't know what came over me back there," Rose admitted, expression turning serious. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess."

Scorpius looked up hopefully. "So, we're good—,"

But he was cut off by something crashing headlong into him. It took a moment for Scorpius to realize that that '_something_' was Rose, and even stranger, she was… _hugging_ him—although 'strangling' would be a more adequate word. Scorpius blushed profusely as he returned the hug, arms looping awkwardly around Rose's waist.

"We're good," Rose's muffled voice clarified.

Neither knew precisely how untrue that statement was.


	17. Minerva McGonagall's Message

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for not updating this story in so long. I'm planning on going back and editing my previous chapters of this story for mistakes—I'm sure there will be _lots_.

I hope my faithful reviewers and readers for this story have not deserted me, for I am back after an awful bout of Writer's Block... with a new chapter!

SCORPIUS, ROSE, AND AL ARE IN FOURTH YEAR NOW. Just thought I'd clarify this, in case you got confused while reading.

Also, the reason for me describing all three of them again—below—is because your late teens (age 14 through18) are when you change the most, physically.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**Year IV**

September 7, 2020

"You are such an arrogant toerag!"

Several heads turned knowingly towards the center of the Gryffindor common room where, as expected, two fourth-years were glaring daggers and yelling insults at one another.

One was a boy—tall, slender, and rather pale—with dashingly windswept, soft platinum-blonde hair. His dark eyes were narrowed and his arms were crossed defensively. His name was Scorpius.

The other was a girl—curvy, short and petite—with light freckles gracing her face and arms. Her frizzy, fiery red hair seemed to virtually burn and crackle with the rage she was expressing to the boy in front of her. Her name was Rose.

It seemed to be a regular event, for most spectators only watched for a moment before rolling their eyes or shaking their heads wearily at the pair and consequently returning to their previous activities. But not before offering looks of sheer sympathy to a third fourth-year in the group.

He was sitting innocently on the ground between the two arguing teenagers—a seemingly precarious position to rest of the half-watching crowd—and was staring despairingly between them. One of his hands was clutching his untidy black hair with exhaustion and the other was trying in vain to push the two still-shouting teenagers apart. His name was Albus.

"What is the matter with you?" Scorpius demanded, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "What have I done that has _irked_ you so much—,"

"Do you want me to write a list, Scorpius?" the Rose spat, taking a dangerous step closer to him, and almost kicking Albus in the guts whilst doing so. "It might take you a while to read it though." She snorted derisively. "It'd take me even longer to write."

Scorpius's eyes narrowed further. He opened his mouth to argue back, but Rose beat him to it.

"Just leave me alone," she snapped and sped out of the common room, only turning back to shoot Scorpius a venomous glare.

"What have I done, Al?" Scorpius inquired helplessly before dropping to the ground beside Albus.

"How should I know?"Al shrugged. "I'm not the one she picks a fight with every day. Honestly,_ I'd_ want to know what it is I'm yelling my head off about before I did, Scorp."

"She's so infuriating," Scorpius grimaced furiously, face scrunched up in irritation as he threw an enraged look in the direction of the portrait hole through which Rose had just vanished.

"Oi," Al slapped Scorpius lightly up the back of his head, though his lips were curved into a slightly amused smile. "That's my cousin you're carping about."

Scorpius grinned reluctantly, although the grin visibly faded at the sight of a certain girl climbing in through the portrait hole.

"Holy Merlin—," Scorpius looked desperately around. "Hide me," he squeaked to Al, darting pointlessly—Al was reasonably shorter than him—behind Al.

"Hi, Al," the girl said sweetly, walking up to Al.

"Hi, Lils," Al's face was screwed up in an effort not to laugh. Scorpius jabbed him unkindly in the back.

Lily spotted Scorpius crouching hysterically behind her brother and her face lit up. "Hi Scorpius," she blushed, face morphing into a red so dark that it almost matched the color of her deep auburn hair.

Feeling completely mortified, Scorpius peeked over Albus's shoulder at Lily.

"Hi, Lily," he smiled uncomfortably at her, drawing himself up to his full—and undeniably towering—height in an effort to redeem himself.

It was quite remarkable, Scorpius thought to himself, how much he'd grown in one summer. He'd come home last summer from his third year and unexpectedly shot up; in fact, he hadn't even noticed, really, until his mum had pointed it out. And since then, Scorpius pretty much utilized any excuse to show it off.

But his height wasn't the only thing that had grown over the summer—Lily's crush on him seemed to have increased significantly as well.

It had started the previous year—Lily's first year and Scorpius's third. She'd followed him around like a lost puppy for weeks, much to Al and Rose's hilarity and Scorpius's exasperation. She'd refused to back off initially, despite the increasingly obvious hints that Scorpius had persistently dropped.

She'd only retreated when her best friends—and cousins—Hugo and Roxanne had given her an earful about how she was "humiliating herself" and "not spending enough time with her real friends."

Scorpius had felt genuinely guilty about it afterwards when he'd seen the shattered expression on poor girl's face. He'd been quick to make amends, being as utterly polite to Lily Potter as possibly he could.

This, however, had only resulted in her becoming even more smitten, and though she no longer pursued him everywhere, it was quite evident how much she still fancied him.

An awkward silence followed Scorpius's words and Al, glancing between his sister and best friend, apparently decided it was time to act.

"Come on, Scorp," he said, grabbing his bag up from the armchair on his right. "Let's get a move on or we'll be late to Herbology."

"Right," Scorpius said at once, grabbing his own bag. "Bye," he smiled to Lily, who blushed—if possible—more intensely.

"Bye, Lils," Al ruffled his sister's hair, much to the latter's displeasure.

The two boys walked swiftly down the damp path to the greenhouses.

"Thanks for that," Scorpius thanked Al sincerely. "What I've done to make your sister fawn all over me like that is beyond me. Merlin knows that I don't need any romance in my life right now."

Al snorted sarcastically. "Merlin also knows that you fail at romance, Scorpius, so you're not making a very valid point."

Scorpius punched Al gently in the shoulder. "Like you're so much better," Scorpius smirked.

"Hey," Al put his hands up in mock-defense. "Having a womanizer for a brother makes the ladies love me by default."

"Sure," Scorpius said sarcastically, though he couldn't deny that James Potter had an inexplicable way with the female gender.

Reaching out and flinging open the door to Greenhouse Two, Albus panted slightly as he allowed Scorpius in before him.

"Sorry we're late, Professor," Albus gasped. "We got a little delayed by—,"

"A redheaded angel," Scorpius supplied wildly.

A small chuckle from the back of the room told the pair that Rose knew what had kept them from getting to class on time.

"No matter, boys," Professor Neville Longbottom said resignedly, rolling his eyes at the two. "Try to be on time next class."

Al and Scorpius nodded exuberantly, scuttling to the back of the room and taking seats on either side of Rose.

"Forgiven me yet?" Scorpius asked Rose, pulling his Herbology book out of his bag.

"Whatever," Rose huffed, but Scorpius saw a small smile twisting her lips.

Scorpius beamed inwardly. It was a weird thing, he decided. How they could go from being at each other's throats one minute and absolute best friends the next he didn't understand at all.

Something jabbed Scorpius on his right side and Scorpius swiveled around, coming face-to-face with an uncharacteristically mischievous-looking Al. In his hand he held two Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Fake Wands, one of which he offered to Scorpius.

Scorpius sniggered under his breath, grabbing it immediately.

Ignoring the world-weary expression that formulated on Rose's face, Scorpius and Al began a very concentrated sword fight.

The door to the Herbology classroom swung open again, and Scorpius looked up fleetingly to see Minerva McGonagall whiz into the classroom. She muttered something to Professor Longbottom, who nodded, grinning.

She turned to face the classroom, taking in the many curious expressions with an air of sternness.

"Potter! Malfoy! Will you please pay attention?"

McGonagall's aggravated voice cracked like a whip through the Herbology classroom. Albus and Scorpius started, jumping violently in their seats, and looked up, Albus holding a mutated tin canary and Scorpius, a rubber herring.

"Now that Potter and Malfoy have been gracious enough to act their age," said Professor McGonagall, with an furious look at the pair as the head of Scorpius's herring fell innocently to the floor with a small squeak—Albus's canary's beak had severed it just seconds earlier—"I have a message for you all."

Several students sat intently up in their seats, while the other Gryffindor fourth-year boys—Frank Longbottom, Daniel Thomas, and Evan Rosario—threw Scorpius and Albus looks of appreciation.

"You two are such dolts," Rose addressed Scorpius and Albus, rolling her eyes fondly.

McGonagall cleared her throat and went on, "This year, Hogwarts has decided to host its first annual Homecoming Ball—,"

Scorpius watched, bemused, as a fourth-year Hufflepuff named Summer Smith let out a shrill giggle, as did many of the other girls in the greenhouse. Both McGonagall and Rose looked profusely annoyed.

"It's an opportunity for you to socialize with your fellow Hogwartians," McGonagall continued. "Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above—although you may invite a younger student if you wish—"

Summer Smith and her fellow Hufflepuff fourth-year girls giggled yet more piercingly. It took Scorpius all he had and more not to grab a pair of earmuffs from the crate under his seat and put them on.

Professor McGonagall ignored the deafening giggles, which Scorpius thought was immensely unjust, as she had just told him and Albus off.

"Dress robes will be worn," Professor McGonagall continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock this Friday, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall."

Professor McGonagall stared calculatingly at the class.

"Dance lessons will be held every evening this week up until Friday evening-,"

An indignant splutter from Scorpius's right interrupted McGonagall. Scorpius turned to see Albus wearing a horrified expression.

"We have to—we have to dance?" he asked in a strangled voice.

The majority of the room joined Scorpius in laughter, although a few were looking quite as horrified as Albus.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, as this is a ball, you will be expected to dance," Professor McGonagall shook her head, looking distinctly unimpressed. "Perhaps you will be inclined to join the dance lessons this week." And smirking at the intensity of the appalled expression on Albus's face, she nodded at Professor Longbottom and swept out of the classroom.

"This ball's going to be a lot more trouble than it's worth," Albus muttered to Scorpius, and Scorpius couldn't help but agree.


	18. All The Good Ones Will Be Gone

Author's Note: Hi guys! Wow, I think this is the fastest I've updated this story recently. Two chapters in three days! I'm quite proud of myself. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story. The tension builds regarding the ball...

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 7, 2020

Scorpius, Albus, and Rose left the greenhouse an hour later, minds still occupied by one particular topic.

"What's Headmistress Sprout getting at anyway?" Al grumbled, hiking his bag up his shoulder. "I mean, a _ball_? Really?"

"What's that you were saying earlier, Al?" Scorpius inquired innocently. "Something about how all the ladies love you by default, I believe."

Rose giggled at the annoyed look which articulated on Al's face.

"Watch it," Al warned Scorpius half-threateningly.

The three friends made their way to the Gryffindor common room a moment later, settling themselves down on their three favorite armchairs by the fireplace.

James and Fred joined them a moment later, both sporting wide smirks.

"Have you heard?" they asked the three fourth-years simultaneously.

"Heard what?" Scorpius asked warily; he'd long ago learned not to trust everything James Potter and Fred Weasley alleged.

"About the Homecoming Ball," Fred supplied, grinning at the sullen expression which immediately surfaced on Albus's face.

"We've heard, yeah," Albus groused.

"Got a date yet?" James wanted to know, perching himself on the armrest of Al's chair.

"We've _just_ heard about this ball. How do you expect us to have dates already?" Al exclaimed incredulously. "Besides, I've got to take dance lessons apparently."

Both James and Fred burst into peels of riotous laughter. Al glowered harshly at them.

"Dance lessons?" James gasped. "Are you for real?"

"Don't be such prats," Rose snapped at her amused cousins. "I don't see anything wrong with taking dance lessons, do you?" she addressed Scorpius with a pointed, fierce glare in his direction.

Scorpius, who'd very nearly started laughing himself, hastily backtracked. "Erm, no, not at all."

"Have you two got dates already, then?" Al challenged, crossing his arms expectantly.

"Of course," James shrugged.

"Who're you going with?" Albus asked, stunned.

"Alice," James said promptly, without even a tinge of discomfiture striking his face.

"W—what?" Al stammered, clearly taken aback. "But she hates you! You've already asked her?"

James stared uncomprehendingly at his brother for a moment. Then, "Good point."

Swiveling around, he quickly sought out Alice Longbottom. She was sitting on the floor by the Gryffindor portrait hole, playing Gobstones with Nellie Jordan and a multitude of other Gryffindor fifth-year girls.

"Oi!" he called out, cupping his mouth with his hands. "Alice!"

Alice Longbottom—a slender, round-faced girl with a sheet of strawberry-blonde hair, a fringe that fell perfectly upon her forehead, and soft, ocher eyes that sparkled with every word she spoke—looked up at James, said ocher eyes narrowing and expression hardening, every-so-slightly.

"What do you want, Potter?" she spat. Nellie Jordan and some of the other girls sniggered.

James didn't even flinch, which Scorpius found distinctly brave of him. Scorpius was sure he would've recoiled the moment Alice flashed that glare at him.

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

Alice's mouth dropped open, her eyes going as round as very Gobstones she was holding in her hands. Her posse of girlfriends smiled eloquently, and Nellie Jordan actually poked her friend meaningfully in the back. Alice glared at her.

"Alright, then," she said finally, and she turned back to the game with the ghost of an unmistakably flattered grin on her face.

"There you go," said Fred to Al and Scorpius. "Easy."

Al gaped at his brother and shook his head disbelievingly. "H—how did you do that?"

"Do what?" James frowned perplexedly.

Al gestured wordlessly over to where Alice Longbottom was now being mercilessly teased by her friends.

James smirked. "It's quite a complicated process, actually," James said seriously, though his eyes were twinkling with mirth. "You've got to first call her name. She'll look 'round at you and then you've got to say 'Hey, want to go to the ball together?'"

Al scowled at his brother.

"Think you can remember all that?" James asked, patting his brother on the back.

Al rolled his eyes scathingly, an action that James very much ignored.

He yawned hugely, getting swiftly to his feet. "We'd better go, Fred. We've got detention in another half-an-hour…"

"You better ask one soon, Al," Fred yelled over his shoulder as he and James made their way out through the portrait hole. "Or all the good ones will be gone!"

Rose frowned intensely at their retreating figures.

Al sighed. "He's actually right, you know. We'd better get a move on, or all the good ones _will_ be gone."

Rose's eyes suddenly snapped onto Al, gaze intensely furious. "And _what_ do you mean by that?"

Al leaned back in his chair, raising a clueless eyebrow. Scorpius wanted to slap Albus upside the head. Why in the name of Merlin did Al have to say such blasphemous things in front of his _female cousin_?

"What do you mean 'all the _good_ ones?'" Rose barked, placing her hands wrathfully on her hips.

"Well," Al continued naïvely. "I don't fancy going with a complete troll, if you know what I mean—,"

Al withdrew with horror as sparks virtually flew out of Rose's eyes.

"Good luck getting a date with that attitude, Albus Severus Potter," Rose rejoined loudly, throwing the foulest of looks in Albus's direction. "Honestly, which idiot would go to the ball with _you—_,"

Feeling that he ought to cut in before the situation got even worse, Scorpius tentatively put in, "Come on now, Rose, I'm sure Al didn't mean it to be offensive—,"

Rose sprung out of her seat with such force that the stout, sizeable armchair she'd been sitting on fell to the ground with a resounding crash, almost flattening the unfortunate huddle of Gryffindor first-years that were behind it.

"Oh, didn't he?" Rose asked silkily, narrowing her eyes dangerously at Scorpius. "Yes, just come to _his_ defense, why don't you?"

Scorpius found himself being propelled to his own feet by sheer rage. He opened his mouth angrily to retort, but Rose spoke first.

"It's these kind of misogynistic outlooks that make females seem inferior to males!" Rose screamed, pointing accusing fingers at both Al and Scorpius. Scorpius found this to be plainly unfair; he hadn't said anything. "Now if you'll excuse me," she snapped abruptly, snatching her bag up from her armrest. "I need to go to the library. I'll just leave you two male chauvinist pigs here to yourselves."

She swished away, stopping momentarily by the portrait hole to bellow over to them, "Don't expect your Potions homework to do itself, Al. I'm certainly not doing it for you!"

Al gawked after her, turning back to Scorpius with his left eye twitching in astonishment. "Barking mad," Al mumbled, running a shell-shocked hand through his untidy, black hair.

"She nags me so much," Scorpius hissed bitterly. "I didn't even do anything."

Relaxing back in their armchairs, a somewhat comfortable silence fell upon the two friends, interrupted only once in a while by Scorpius, who was still sporadically muttering words like 'nag' and 'infuriate' and 'not my fault' under his breath.

Finally Al spoke. "I think you should just ask Rose to the ball and be done with it, Scorp."

Scorpius spluttered in skepticism. "I thought you'd given up that preposterous teasing, Al."

Al had spent much of Scorpius's second third year and the beginning of his third under the belief that Scorpius was, as Al had put it, "attracted to Rose." He'd teased Scorpius ruthlessly about it, only giving it up when learning of Lily's crush on Scorpius. He and Rose had then proceeded to persistently tease him about _that_ instead.

"No," Al continued. "I'm serious."

Scorpius looked up, diverted. "W—what?"

"I reckon she'd say 'yes' if you asked," Al shrugged.

"B—but that's ridiculous," Scorpius stammered, hardly daring to believe what Al was telling him. "Besides it would be too awkward. Imagine me dancing with her."

"I guess," Al conceded, consequently getting to his feet. "Well, I suppose I'd better get started on that sodding Potions homework, seeing as Rose isn't going to help me out."

"I'll be there in a second," Scorpius assured Al, knowing Potions to be one of his worst subjects. "I'll help you out."

"Thanks," Al nodded, sprinting up to the dormitories.

And Scorpius was left alone by the fireplace, head buzzing with thoughts of Rose and the Homecoming Ball.


	19. Step, Glide, Twirl

Author's Note: A new chapter! Wow, I'm rather proud of the consistency of my recent updating. Anyway, here's some more pre-ball drama for you... and this isn't the end of it. I'm planning on having one more "build-up" chapter before the actual Homecoming ball one.

About this chapter, well, I just couldn't resist. I really wanted to write a dance lesson and... I ended up incorporating the Goblet of fire's Dance Lesson scene into it. What can I say? It was the one scene in the entire GOF movie that I actually enjoyed—I felt that the movie as a whole was a complete and utter failure.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It really was meant to be a bit of a filler—which is obvious, seeing as there's really no Scorpius/Rose drama involved—but the next chapter will be chock-full of Rose/Scorpius drama, so stick around!

Well, I won't dish out any more spoilers...

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 8, 2020

"Thanks for doing this," Albus said fervently as he and Scorpius made their way to the Viaduct Courtyard for the evening's dance lessons.

"No problem, mate."

Though Scorpius really didn't truly need the lessons—his mother had taken it upon herself to teach him how to dance when he'd been just a toddler—, he had decided go as moral support for Albus, who was looking paler and paler each second they got closer to the courtyard.

Neither boy had spoken a word to Rose since her outraged outburst the previous night. And for once, Scorpius wasn't making an attempt.

His mind was still completely plagued with thoughts on asking Rose to the ball. Part of him hated the idea, detested it with every fiber of his being. How could he possibly ask Rose—his best friend—to an intentionally _romantic_ social event?

But the other part of him, the undeniably superior part, wanted to ask Rose. He still wasn't quite sure why the obviously incorrect choice—inviting Rose—was weighing out the correct one.

All he knew was that it was scaring him to the next century and back.

And that unless some unknown force was to stop him asking his best friend to the Homecoming Ball, it _would_ irrefutably happen, and the whole world would come crashing down.

Perhaps he was overreacting just a tad.

Progressing briskly out of the entrance hall and out through the large front doors, Scorpius and Al soon arrived at the courtyard, where about fifty-odd people had already congregated.

"I feel like such a prat, being here," Al muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Scorpius, contemplating the several other class members warily.

"Don't be ridiculous," Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You'll be fine."

"James and Fred will torment me for the rest of my life," Al whimpered piteously. "They're never going to let this one slide—_oh_!" he stopped short, eyes widening with alarm as James and Fred themselves hurried into the courtyard.

They squinted identically, both scrutinizing the crowd vigilantly, and then, spotting Scorpius and Al, they sprinted over to them with their trademark broad smirks plastered unsurprisingly onto their faces.

"What are you two doing here?" Al almost spat, advancing onto his brother and cousin with his hands clenching dangerously.

"Merlin, my little brother," James mock-admonished. "What's gotten your knickers in a twist?"

Al growled with such ferocity that James took a slightly frightened step backwards. Scorpius didn't blame him one bit.

"Why are you here?" Al hissed demandingly, head swiveling from one rather terrified face to the other.

With a perceptibly immense amount of self-control, James managed to keep his cool.

"We just thought we'd take some extra lessons before the ball, you know," James said nonchalantly, with an evasive wave of his hand.

"Don't want to look like fools out there come Friday," Fred added, shrugging his shoulders carelessly.

"Yeah, right," Al snorted derisively, taking yet another wrathful step closer to his brother. "As if you two need to dance to look like fools. I reckon it comes naturally."

Scorpius, not able to help himself, sniggered under his breath.

It was quite obvious that Al was fighting desperately not to look too pleased with himself.

"You two are here just to make my life miserable, aren't you?" Al persisted, scowling intensely at James and Fred.

"You don't need our help for that, Al," James said silkily, arching an astute eyebrow. "I reckon it comes... _naturally_."

Al's right hand twitched towards his wand and Scorpius was almost pleased to see an exceptionally stern Minerva McGonagall hastening towards the gathered group, emerald robes billowing swiftly behind her. She reached shortly, observing each of them austerely before waving her wand in an elaborate fashion, causing the dirty, grayed tiles of the courtyard to smoothen and level out before their very eyes. Moments later, Scorpius found himself looking at a glossy, gleaming, marble dance floor.

Eyes again flitting severely over each present student, McGonagall spoke in her tartly brittle voice, "On Friday evening, we will all gather in the Great Hall for some _well-manner_ frivolity. I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward… for I will not have _anybody_ disrespecting the school by acting like a babbling, bumbling, blundering baboon."

Scorpius vaguely heard James mutter to Fred, "Try saying _that_ five times fast."

And suddenly, without any warning, McGonagall's face broke into a blissful smile, and she swished her hands around gracefully, pirouetting slowly in an elegant circle.

Scorpius bit his lip to stop from chuckling. Four years ago, he would've never thought he would one day see the severe, stern, serious ex-Headmistress of Hogwarts twirling around in such a fashion.

She continued breathlessly, "To dance is to let the body breathe… inside every girl, a secret, _serene_ swan slumbers, longing to break free… and take flight."

Al snickered scathingly from next to Scorpius, and Scorpius was certain that he and Al were thinking of the same thing: Rose's shouting spree the night before.

McGonagall's eyes fell on Albus and she gazed at him appraisingly, "And inside every boy, lives a lordly lion prepared to prance… Mr. Potter," she addressed Albus, beckoning him over. "Will you join me, please?"

Albus gulped, face whitening as McGonagall whooshed forward and grabbed his hand, pulling him upright and towards the center of the courtyard-turned-dance floor.

"Now," McGonagall ordered lightly, and Scorpius was sure he saw the smallest of smirks curl her lips upward. "Place your right hand on my waist, please."

Al's face now matched the color of the marble dance floor. "Wha—?"

"Hand on my waist now, Mr. Potter," McGonagall commanded again, and Albus obliged unenthusiastically, exchanging a fleetingly petrified look with Scorpius while doing so.

"Music, please!" McGonagall called in a virtually sing-song voice.

James, grinning evilly at his younger brother, extracted from his pocket a simple wireless radio. Fumbling with the knobs, James managed to direct the radio to the Wizarding Wireless Network, which was currently, unfortunately for Al, playing Celestina Warbeck—an extremely ancient singer who specialized in classical music, and whom Scorpius's grandmother loved—"masterpieces."

Grinning at the stupefied expression that developed on Albus's face, Scorpius grinned. Pulling out his wand and pointing it at the radio, Scorpius whispered, "Sonorus."

Suddenly waltz was shattering the air, blaring throughout the enormous courtyard.

McGonagall smiled with satisfaction, hauling herself up to her full height, making Al look like a shrimp in the process, and gripping Al's hand shoulder tightly.

And then, amidst much good-natured sniggering and sympathetic smiles, McGonagall began _dancing_ with Albus across the glistening marble floor.

"1… 2… 3… 1… 2… 3…"

Scorpius couldn't control himself any longer and he, James, and Fred shook with laughter as McGonagall pulled Albus daintily across the floor.

"1… 2… 3… 1… 2… 3…"

"Do me a favor," Scorpius told James and Fred, chuckling as McGonagall twirled Albus round and round. "Never let him forget this."

"_Never_."


	20. Desperate Measures

Author's Note: Hello, my lovely readers! I truly apologize for the horrifyingly late update. It's been far too long since I last added a chapter to this Fanfic. And don't even get me started on my other chapter-based story, Pride and Prejudice. I shudder just thinking about how little attention I've been paying to it.

On a happier note, I've been writing a few little oneshots recently, which is something I don't usually do. One of them is called _Reconciliation_ (Harry/Ginny) and the other is called Seeing the Light (Percy/Audrey). Feedback on either would be much appreciated.

Now, on to this chapter. Well, here's a little recap, in case you don't exactly remember what was going on before—

_There is going to be a homecoming ball, for fourth years and above—although they can invite a younger student if they wish to. Al, Rose, and Scorpius are in fourth year. Scorpius wants to ask Rose, but is confused by his feelings towards her. Albus had to take dance lessons, which ended in hilarity (see previous chapter). Rose is angry at Albus and Scorpius because she thinks they are utter misogynists. Now, both Al and Scorpius are desperate for dates._

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 9, 2020

"This is getting ridiculous," Albus complained, running a hand, aggravated, through his unruly black hair. He seized two fistfuls of his hair, sighing in frustration as a horde of girls walked by, giggling piercingly.

"I know," Scorpius grumbled.

Scorpius and Albus were seated together at the edge of the Viaduct Courtyard. It had taken much persuasion on Scorpius's part to get Albus down to the courtyard in the first place; apparently the mere thought of the location was still haunting Albus after his dancing debut with Professor McGonagall the previous day. On the upside, Al was no longer as utterly gauche on his feet as he'd been before the lesson. In fact, Al's dancing was now quite decent.

However, neither boy had a date yet. And the ball was just a meager two days away.

Al groaned resignedly as yet another gaggle of girls walked by them with a much a waft of perfume and uncontrolled laughter. "Why do they have to travel in—in _packs_?"

"What's the matter, boys?" a feminine voice inquired loftily from somewhere in front of them. "Are all the_ good_ ones gone, then?"

Scorpius looked up and was not-at-all surprised to see Rose Weasley facing them with her arms crossed and a scathing expression gracing her petite face.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I said, alright?" Albus blurted out, throwing his hands up in an attempt of surrendering—an incredibly slapdash attempt, in Scorpius's opinion, judging from the unappeased look on Rose's face. Albus continued, "I didn't mean it in an offensive way!"

Rose just glared intensely at her cousin in a manner that made it quite certain that she wasn't going to forgive him any time soon.

"Right," said Albus tersely, looking very much put out, "yeah, this is getting stupid. Rose, you go with Scorpius, and I'll just go alone—,"

Al stopped short at a nasty look from Scorpius, the latter whose cheeks were turning a rather startlingly magnificent shade of magenta.

"I can't," said Rose, and her cheeks went slightly pink as well.

"Oh come on," Albus huffed impatiently. "Don't bring Scorpius into this fight. He didn't even do anything—,"

"I can't go with him," snapped Rose, whose entire face was now on the brink of turning scarlet, "because I'm already going with someone."

Scorpius felt as though Rose had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and shoved him headlong into the rocky, grayed tiles of the courtyard on which he was currently situated. Blinking rapidly, Scorpius gaped at Rose, not desiring to accept what she was saying as the truth. He felt a surge a sudden of anger towards whoever had asked her out; they probably didn't even _know_ her. They probably just wanted to go with her because she was undeniably pretty. They would probably chuck her as soon as the sodding ball was over and done.

"No, you're not," Albus deadpanned, and rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that to get back at us."

Scorpius frowned ferociously in Albus's direction._ Why did Al have to bring him into this again?_

"Oh, am I?" demanded Rose, and her cobalt eyes flashed dangerously. "Just because _you_ two have such misogynistic attitudes, doesn't mean everyone does!"

Albus goggled at her. Then he grinned. "Okay, I'm sorry about what I said. Truly. Look, we need dance partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any. Just go with Scorp—,"

"I've already told you!" Rose shrieked, looking positively beside herself. "I'm going with someone else!"

And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed off in the direction of the castle.

Al watched her go, an incredulous look surfacing on his face. "She's lying," he said flatly.

"She's not," said Scorpius quietly, also staring curiously after her retreating figure.

Albus rounded on Scorpius and there was a steely glint in his eyes that caught Scorpius completely off guard. "You _knew_? You knew she was going with someone, and you let me make an utter fool of myself like that? I was trying to get her to go with _you_! Who is this bloke? Is it someone I know? Merlin, wait until James and I get our hands on that nutter. And Fred and Hugo, too—,"

"I didn't know! I don't know who it is!" Scorpius interjected. "I—I can just tell she's not lying, that's all." Scorpius found himself unable to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

Albus looked relieved that he and Scorpius were still on the same page, and yet, at the same time, exceedingly irritated that his cousin had acquired herself a date before him.

"Let's get out of here," Albus said abruptly, and Scorpius was eager to oblige. He wanted to get up to his dorm and crash. And put this absurd ball out of his head for a long, _long_ time.

Albus and Scorpius walked up to the Gryffindor Common Room in silence, and entered the portrait hole without exchanging a word. They both took seats upon their favorite armchairs by the fireplace.

"What's the matter with girls?" Albus asked savagely. "Really, one minute they're fine, and the next minute they're tearing you to pieces…"

But Scorpius was only half listening. He had just seen Albus's sister, Lily, and a friend of hers come in through the portrait hole.

The time had come for desperate measures.

"Wait here," Scorpius said to Al. Getting to his feet, he stalked directly up to Lily, and said, "Lily, would you like to go to the ball with me?"

Lily gasped ecstatically and her friend went into a fit of giggles; Lily was quick to join. Although already regretting his actions, Scorpius waited patiently for their laughter to subside. His fingers were tightly crossed in the pocket of his robes.

"Yes," she said finally, her cheeks becoming a dark red, one to rival that of her copper-colored hair.

"Thanks," said Scorpius. Feeling quite thankful, he continued, "And your friend—will she go with your brother?"

Lily's companion burst of into increasingly strident sniggers, and Lily smiled apologetically at Scorpius. "Asha's going with someone else."

"Oh," Scorpius sighed. "Can't you think of anyone who'd go with Al?" he asked hopefully, lowering his voice so that Albus, who was still relaxing by the fire, watching the three bemusedly, wouldn't hear.

Lily smirked at her brother. "The git's not got a date yet?"

"Nope."

"Well…" said Lily thoughtfully, "I suppose I could ask my friend… Kristen Longbottom, you know… in Hufflepuff. I'll ask her, if you'd like."

"That'd be excellent, yeah," said Scorpius. "Let me know, will you, please?"

"Sure thing."

And he strolled back over to Al, fervently praying that this ball would be over soon.


	21. A New–Found Foe

Author's Note: I am so tremendously sorry for my lack of updating. The past month has been nothing less than a complete whirlwind for me, what with finals and such. I hope you haven't given up on me yet.

Anyway, this chapter is the start of the Homecoming Ball. Yes, it's just the start... I'm planning on having _one more_ chapter about it before transitioning into Rose and Scorpius's Fifth Year.

Feedback is very much appreciated! :) Good or bad, I would love to hear it.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 11, 2020

The evening of the Homecoming Ball dawned in good time, and, at around seven o'clock, Scorpius, Albus, and their roommates—Daniel Thomas, Frank Longbottom, and Evan Rosario—trooped up to their dormitory to change into their dress robes. They all avoided each other's gazes while doing so, all looking spectacularly self-conscious as each stepped into their distinctive robes.

"I still haven't gotten over the fact that you're taking my sister to the ball," Albus sighed, tugging uncomfortably at the collar of his bottle-green dress robes.

"Yeah, well, we don't always get what we want, do we?" Scorpius snapped, sounding extraordinarily unlike his usual, unruffled self.

Albus surveyed Scorpius with an air of surprise. "What's gotten your knickers in a twist?"

"Nothing," Scorpius lied, exhaling gustily whilst straightening up and running a comb through his smooth, platinum-blonde hair. "Just nervous, that's all," he lied.

Truthfully, Scorpius wasn't at all eager to attend the ball with Al's sister. It wasn't that he didn't care for Lily; he did. Spending such a great deal of time with the Potters had caused Scorpius to look upon Lily as a younger sister.

_But that_, Scorpius thought to himself, _was the problem_. Lily was akin to a sister in his eyes. And no amount of romantic endeavors on Lily's part was going to change that. It was very unlikely, Scorpius decided, that this ball was going to bode well for his relationship with Lily. His mind flashed forward to a potential scene following the ball, which involved him trying in vain to explain to a crushed, inconsolable Lily Potter that he only regarded her as a sister. He could very well imagine her shaken expression, her rapidly blanching face, and the tears articulating in her bright brown eyes as she hastened away from him, her long copper-red hair swaying lifelessly behind her.

Then, his mind flashed to a different redhead. _Rose_. A vivid picture formed in Scorpius's mind of Rose, looking undeniably attractive in long, elegant pink robes, dancing with a tall, faceless, and unpleasant stranger, whilst he, Scorpius, watched mirthlessly from afar.

Scorpius gritted his teeth heatedly, and threw his comb back onto his bedside table, shaking his head in an effort to clear the repulsive interpretation from his mind.

"Why are _you_ worried?" Albus scoffed, making himself comfortable on the edge of Scorpius's bed. "You _know_ Lily. I barely know Kristen. Yeah, we've met a few times in the past because our fathers are friends, but…" he trailed off, shuddering slightly. "She was always closer to Lily. Scorp, what if I make a complete fool of myself?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You won't, Al, trust me. Besides, Lily said Kristen's a Hufflepuff. And they're supposed to be fair and sweet-tempered."

It was Albus's turn to roll his eyes. "Not always. Summer Smith is a Hufflepuff, and she's the nastiest girl in our entire year."

"True," Scorpius conceded. He heaved a sigh, reaching out to pat his best friend hearteningly on the shoulder. "Cheer up, Al. It'll be fine... come on, let's go."

Al nodded, looking only half-convinced, and the pair exited their dormitory, thus making their way to the Gryffindor Common Room. The common room looked oddly colorful, packed with people wearing a multitude of different shades, rather than the habitual mass of black.

Lily was waiting patiently for Scorpius at the foot of the stairs. She looked exceptionally striking indeed, in robes of a glittering golden material. Her long dark red hair was curled slightly at the bottom, and various golden ornaments were braided into it. Scorpius was very much reassured to find that she wasn't blushing in the slightest.

"You look great," Scorpius said honestly, and Lily smiled warmly up at him.

"Thank you," she beamed, eyes sweeping over him, and lips curving upward in an appreciative smile. "You, too."

Scorpius inclined his head politely, and held out his hand to her. "Shall we?"

"Yes," she took his hand, and they exited the Common Room together, Al in tow.

Lily turned to Al, "Kristen's told me she's going to meet you in the entrance hall."

"Brilliant," Al managed to choke out, his face going a pale green.

"Have you seen Rose?" Scorpius inquired, glancing at Lily curiously.

"No, but I'd suppose she's with—," she stopped short as they reached the entrance hall, where the vast majority of the school seemed to be congregated. Those who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying desperately to find one another.

Lily scanned the crowd intently, and, evidently catching sight of whatever she was looking for, hurried away from Albus and Scorpius.

Scorpius rounded on Al. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Al muttered, also scrutinizing the throng keenly, clearly looking for Kristen.

"Your _sister_ knows who Rose's date is," Scorpius explained, his brow furrowing thoughtfully.

"Not surprising, really," Al murmured distractedly. "They are quite close. Like sisters."

"Yeah, but we're like her brothers," Scorpius argued. "Surely, she'd tell _us_ before telling Lily."

"You're a bit naïve, Scorp," Al rolled his eyes playfully at his friend. "A sensible girl wouldn't tell their brother a _thing_ about their love life. Because she'd know that her brother would want to clobber her boyfriend into a pulp," Al finished lightly. "You should've seen James's face when I told him that Lily was going to the ball with you. All I can say is that it's a good thing he likes you... and besides, Rose wouldn't have told us who her date was either way. She's still mad at us, remember?"

"I remember, I remember," Scorpius disclosed bitterly.

Al turned to him, quirking an eyebrow charily. "Why are you so fixated on finding out who Rose's date is, anyway?"

"I'm not fixated," Scorpius contended, casting his best friend a harsh frown.

"Whatever you say," Al shrugged, with a rather amused glint in his eye that made Scorpius feel markedly ill at ease.

Lily returned a moment later with another girl at her heels, whom Scorpius could only assume to be Kristen Longbottom. She was quite the enchanter, having short, fair blonde hair—which seemed almost luminous to Scorpius—and dark, indubitably intriguing eyes. She grinned kindly at Al, a rather crimson tinge emerging phenomenally upon her soft cheeks.

Scorpius saw Al swallow heavily out of the corner of his eyes.

At that moment, a group of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors descended the marble staircase. James Potter and Fred Weasley were at the front, both bearing identical robes of an intense, velvety magenta material. Then, came Dominique Weasley, who was looking particularly dazzling in robes of silvery satin, and accompanied by the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, William Davies. Only Rose was not yet present.

Scorpius vaguely heard Headmistress Sprout's voice calling, "Everybody, form a straight line, if you please!" He permitted Lily to escort him to the quickly developing line, still craning his head in a distressed go at locating his best feminine friend. _Where was she?_

They piled into the magically enlarged Great Hall. The walls of the hall had all been covered in colorful, sparkling fabric, with hundreds of flower garlands and ivy draping from the starry black ceiling. The House tables had disappeared. Instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about ten people.

Sprout waited until everyone was seated before speaking, "Welcome to Hogwarts' first annual Homecoming Ball. We,"—she gestured to herself, as well as the other staff members—"hope that this evening passes in an abundance of forthcoming, frivolous behavior. Bad manners of any type will not be tolerated—," she ceased her speech, focusing upon the Great Hall's guilded double doors, which were steadily opening.

Scorpius held his breath with growing wonder as a delicate, elegant figure slipped into the room, mumbling hushed apologies to everyone around her as she dashed to her seat.

It was Rose.

Scorpius's eyes followed her inquisitively as she moved swiftly through the hall and took a seat next to Scorpius's fellow Gryffindor fourth-year, Evan Rosario.

He tried fruitlessly to catch her gaze, but she wasn't looking in his direction. No, she was talking to Evan… with an irrefutably schmaltzy grin on her face.

"No," Scorpius whispered in a low voice. "No, it can't be."

But the moment Evan slipped his arm around Rose's slender waist, Scorpius knew his worst fears had been confirmed.

And before he could help it, he'd sprung to his feet, heart pounding and fists clenching, as he glared savagely at Evan Rosario, his new-found foe.


	22. Stubborn and Oblivious

Author's Note: Well, a bit faster than my usual updating. I'm quite proud of myself. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've always had a soft spot for Lily, and she's really quite a sweetheart in this chapter. As for Al, well, what can I say? I pretty much want to glomp him every time I write about him. :)

By the way, just thought I'd mention that THIS CHAPTER CONCLUDES FOURTH YEAR. The next chapter will introduce their fifth year to us, in which Rose and Scorpius have reconciled, but Rose still thinks of Scorpius as a friend. You might've noticed that I'm not fully writing about every single year at Hogwarts for Rose and Scorpius. Just the main event that happened in each one. Although, I might've gone a little overboard with second year. Seriously, I wrote like TEN chapters for that _one_ year. Whereas third year only has two. Hehehe, sorry about that.

Enough with my rambling...

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

September 11, 2020

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed furiously, as all heads snapped in their direction. "Sit down."

Scorpius tactfully allowed Lily to jerk him back into his seat sharply, but his vehement glare was still locked onto Evan's face, which was now sporting a rather defensive expression. On Evan's right side, Rose was glancing from one boy to another, apparently very much disconcerted by the their odd behavior.

Meanwhile, at the head table, Headmistress Sprout allowed her firm gaze to linger fleetingly on both Scorpius and Evan before she continued with her speech. "As I was saying, bad manners of any kind will not be tolerated—," Again, she glanced pointedly at Scorpius, and Scorpius proceeded to stare bitterly down at his shoes.

He couldn't believe it. Evan Rosario—that utterly _foolhardy_ fourth-year Gryffindor boy—had asked Rose to the ball. Admittedly, he was rather good-looking. His permanently tousled blonde hair and icy, blue eyes gave him that classic winsomeness, which provoked half the witches in Scorpius's year to swoon and virtually wage war over him. Out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius saw Summer Smith gaping at Rose with unflattering disbelief.

With enormous effort, Scorpius managed to suppress his distinct desire to rip Evan limb from limb, and consequently turned his attention back to Professor Sprout, who was winding down her speech.

"—hope that you will make the most of this evening. And now, feel free to—as they say—dig in!"

Her words were greeted with an abundance of whoops and thunderous applause from the vast majority of the students in the hall. Scorpius thought he could hear James and Fred wolf-whistling from the other end of the expanse.

There was no food as yet on the spotless plates, Scorpius noticed, but little menu cards were situated in front of each of them. Scorpius uncertainly picked his up and looked around, relieved to find that his actions were being mirrored by almost everyone. There was not a single waiter in sight. Professor Sprout, however, flicked meticulously through her own menu card, and then declared, very clearly to her empty plate, "Roast chicken!"

And the roast chicken appeared at once. Following suit, the rest of the crowd placed their orders with their plates too.

Scorpius couldn't help but wonder what a stranger might think if they walked in, and saw a group of well-dressed teenagers talking to their plates.

"Scorpius."

He looked up. Al was staring at him curiously, his eyebrows raised, and his mouth set in a line so thin that it would've made Professor McGonagall proud.

"Yeah?" Scorpius inquired innocently. He knew what Al was getting at, and he didn't like it. Although, Scorpius was beginning to wonder whether perhaps, just _perhaps_, Al's intuition had more than an ounce of truth in it.

"Do you mind if I had a word with you—?"

"Of course not," Scorpius deadpanned. "What is it?"

"—_alone_?

"Er, I don't think now's the best time..." Scorpius trailed off, looking away from his best friend, and, while doing so, accidentally meeting Lily's penetrating scrutiny.

He hastily averted his eyes.

"Scorpius," Al's voice was unusually controlled, but there was a steely note to it that rather intimidated Scorpius. "Come with me."

Scorpius got to his feet, muttering furiously under his breath. "I'll be right back," Scorpius assured Lily, who was looking quite peeved with her brother for dragging her date away. "I promise. Just give me a second..."

He permitted Al to tug him past rows and rows of occupied tables, out through the Great Hall doors, and into the currently desolate Entrance Hall.

"What's the matter?" Scorpius demanded loftily, shutting the doors quietly behind him as he swiveled around to face his best friend.

"I really don't think _you_ should be asking _me_ that. I'm not the one that publicly humiliated myself just now—,"

"I didn't _publicly humiliate_ myself—,"

"Half the population of Hogwarts would beg to differ," Albus interjected shrewdly. He regarded his best friend with an air of perplexity. "What was that about, mate? You don't usually act like that."

"Like you don't know."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Scorpius didn't answer for a moment, shooting Al an appraising look. But when Al looked still bewildered, Scorpius's expression softened. Perhaps Al really didn't know what Scorpius meant. And, in that moment, Scorpius decided that he wanted to keep it that way.

"Nothing's wrong, Al," Scorpius reassured. "It's just—," he stopped short.

Al arched a brow quizzically. "Go on."

"What does she see in _him_?" Scorpius finally blurted out, flinging his arms in the air. He could vaguely feel his cheeks burning, and his his hair prickling with mortification.

"Who?" Albus asked.

"Rose," Scorpius spat irately, before he could stop himself, "in Evan."

"Well," Albus said slowly, crossing his arms and leaning back onto the stone wall of the Entrance Hall. "I suppose he's rather good-looking... I mean, all the girls seem to like him a lot. Even Lily seemed interested in him when she first came here, and she's had the hots for you for Merlin-knows-how-long. And, according to Dan Thomas, he's quite likable—,"

"What are you talking about?" Scorpius seethed. "He's a flaming prick."

"And I'm sure this opinion has nothing to do with the fact that he asked her to the ball before you got the chance," Al rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

Scorpius blanched, spluttering indignantly. "Th—that's com—com—completely besides the point," he stammered.

"Please, Scorp," Al sighed jadedly. "I _know_ you fancy my cousin. You do a terrible job of hiding it. Even _James_ thought something was up between you two, and he's as thick as a troll."

Scorpius's mind flashed back to his first day of Hogwarts, on the Hogwarts Express, the first time he'd ever met James Sirius Potter. _"But it's bound to happen eventually." _He swallowed heavily.

"I suppose I was being a bit of a prat, huh?" Scorpius soughed spiritlessly. "Thinking I even had a chance with her." He let out a dark, humorless laugh. "I bet she doesn't even think of me as a _friend_ anymore, especially after that little showdown in the Great Hall."

"Scorpius," Albus said through gritted teeth, a very much determined expression surfacing on his face, and his green eyes glinting unequivocally. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen up—I don't want you to give up on Rose."

"But—,"

Albus put a hand up impatiently, signalling for Scorpius to remain silent. "Listen to me first. Rose is one of the most stubborn, yet oblivious people I've ever met. A terrible combination, if you ask me, but not very surprising. She truly is Uncle Ron's daughter."

Al took a deep breath, and then continued, "So please, _please_ don't give up on her yet. I don't know how long it will finally take, but I _do_ know that I'd rather have you as a cousin-in-law over Evan any day. And I'm sure most of my family would agree," Albus finished. "Except maybe Uncle Ron," he added as an afterthought.

Scorpius smiled dryly. "Rose's dad does seem to harbor a rather burning hatred for me, eh?"

"Don't let it get to you," Albus shrugged. "Like I said, Rose is truly his daughter. Remember how much she hated you in our first year?"

"Don't remind me," Scorpius mock-groaned. "Terrible times."

"And I was in the middle of it," Albus grinned. "I reckon I still am. You two argue too much for your own good."

The corners of Scorpius's lips twitched upward in amusement, and Albus looked satisfied at last.

"So, are we clear?" Albus drilled, eyeing his friend calculatingly.

"We're clear," Scorpius confirmed firmly, flinging an arm around Albus's shoulders as he made to reopen the doors to the Great Hall. Music was playing from within; evidently, the Ball had officially started. He had to get back to Lily, _now_. As much as he regretted asking Lily Potter to the ball, he owed it to her to at least try and enjoy himself this evening.

But, as if on cue, the doors separating the Great Hall from the Entrance Hall opened on their own accord and Lily Potter herself stepped out, looking anxious and, at the same time, slightly miffed.

"Hey, Lils," Scorpius greeted her warmly. "Shall we go back inside and dance, then? I'm done having a little chat with your brother. Don't worry, I'm not going to run off with him or anything."

"Hey, you know you love me," Albus smirked, and both boys virtually fell over laughing.

Lily didn't smile. "Actually, I need to have a word with _you_, Scorpius," she addressed him coolly. She glanced nonchalantly at her brother. "_Alone_."

"Oh—er—are you sure you don't want to dance instead?" Scorpius asked pointlessly. He knew Lily Potter; when she wanted something, she _got_ it.

"Quite," she said, expression unreadable. Scorpius felt distinctly uncomfortable.

"Well, I'll see you later, then," Albus winked at Scorpius. "You two have fun."

Scorpius scowled cynically at Albus's retreating figure. He turned back to Lily. "Er—," he hesitated, not sure how to proceed. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk about..." her mellifluous voice lingered in the air as she leisurely paced the length of the corridor. "_Us_, actually."

"Us?" Scorpius all but squeaked, eyes widening with alarm.

"Yes," Lily spun around and faced him, her expression hard and her eyes blazing. "Scorpius, I don't think it's going to work out between us."

"Really?" Scorpius queried, struggling wildly to keep the sheer glee from entering his voice. Clearly, he had failed, for Lily's eyes narrowed, ever-so-slightly.

"I know you fancy Rose."

Whatever Scorpius had been expecting, it wasn't that. He stared vacantly at the youngest Potter sibling, feeling thoroughly stupefied. "Wh—what?"

"You fancy Rose," she repeated, although her voice was noticeably gentler now. "I know you do, Scorpius, so don't even try to deny it."

"I—I wasn't going to," he mumbled quietly, still very much shocked out his wits. "But—but... h—how—?"

"It's rather obvious," she shrugged. "I'm pretty sure only dear Rosie hasn't noticed yet. She's a bit slow, that one."

"But," Scorpius continued, now more dumbfounded than ever. "If you knew I fancied her, then why did you say 'yes' when I asked you to the ball."

"Because I like you," Lily said simply. "I really do, Scorpius, and I know you won't ever feel the same way, but I suppose I'll get over it eventually. I always do."

This only served in making Scorpius feel absolutely terrible. He turned away from her, feeling as though he could not bare to see those dazzlingly bright brown eyes for another second.

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty," Lily remonstrated, undoubtedly catching sight of Scorpius's conscience-stricken semblance. "Please, don't feel guilty. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." She vacillated momentarily before continuing, "I guess I might've gone a little overboard in executing my—er—_liking_ for you." She shook her head mordantly. "Roxy always said it was stupid of me to like you—,"

"It wasn't stupid," he alluded kindly. "I mean, everyone has their fancies, you know. I reckon we'll both laugh about this about five years into the future."

"I hope so."

They fell into a somewhat comfortable silence, both gazing at the doors to the Great Hall with a sort of untenanted lightheartedness.

Unsurprisingly, it was Lily who broke the quietude. "Good luck, Scorpius. I hope Rose falls for your charm as badly as I did." She hesitated for a moment, and then leaned up and gave Scorpius a friendly peck on the cheek. It happened in a split-second; the next moment, she was gone, the doors to the Great Hall swinging languidly behind her.

And Scorpius was left hoping, with every fiber of his being, that what Lily had just broached would one day be true.


	23. The Cheater

Author's Note: Here we go! :) A new chapter. Sorry it took so long. I've just been ridiculously busy lately.

A little recap on the story so far, for those of you who forgot— the last six chapters were centered around fourth year, more specifically a 'Homecoming Ball' that took place. Scorpius wanted to take Rose, but she was asked by Scorpius's classmate, Evan Rosario. Scorpius ended up taking Lily (his best friend's, sister) to the ball, instead. But after Al and Lily both realized Scorpius's feelings towards Rose, they give him their blessings, telling him not to give up on her.

NOW IT IS FIFTH YEAR, by the way. O.W.L. year, in other words.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**Year V**

June 4, 2022

Scorpius leaned back against his favorite armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room. He felt dazed and his head spun from lack of sleep. He detested studying for OWLs. It seemed as though the library had replaced the Boys' Dormitory as Scorpius's living quarters. Madam Pince was going insane, what with the amount of fifth and seventh-year students pouring into her book repository each day. Slowly, Scorpius's eyes began to close and his thoughts began to drift away into nothingness.

"JAMES POTTER, I HATE YOU!"

Scorpius's eyes snapped open, and his gaze shifted wearily towards the center of the common room. Alice Longbottom, his Herbology professor's daughter, appeared to be covered from head to toe in a muddy substance. Her strawberry-blonde hair now resembled a begrimed landslide, and her normally immaculate fringe hung in dishabille clumps. The only parts of her body that were not smeared with grime were her tawny eyes, which crackled with anger as she beheld the boy next to her—James Sirius Potter.

James was sniggering helplessly at the sight of his girlfriend blanketed with heaps of mire. His best friend and cousin, Fred Weasley, seemed equally unable to control his amusement. And they held onto each other for support as tears of mirth streamed down their faces.

Scorpius distinctly hoped that they knew what they were getting themselves into.

Alice continued to shriek stridently, "I know you did this to me, James! What kind of a boyfriend are you? Merlin, I hate you so much right now that I could..."

Scorpius sighed. He vaguely wondered whether James would ever accumulate the sense to stop playing such practical jokes on his girlfriend. These little espiegleries would almost certainly eventually result in—

"THAT'S IT!" Alice screeched, curling her hands into fists as James's laughter piqued in volume. "IT'S OVER!"

And with that, she stalked away, her best friend, Nellie Jordan, clucking sympathetically at her heels.

James looked as though somebody had walloped him precisely in the face with a frying pan. And with his eyes still pinned disbelievingly to the exact place where Alice had vanished, up to the Girls' Dormitories, James dropped quietly to the ground, burying his face in his hands. Fred sat down beside him, flinging an arm hearteningly around his friend's shoulders.

"Scorpius?" someone called at his shoulder.

Scorpius turned around to find Albus Potter and Rose Weasley saunter up from behind him. They took seats on either side of him, with Albus kicking his feet up onto Scorpius's lap and Rose perching comfortably on his left armrest.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, and pushed Al's feet off of his legs, causing the latter to grunt and bellow in alarm as he fell to the ground with a resounding smash.

"Where've you been?" queried Rose.

"Yeah," Al's muffled voice stemmed from the ground. "We practically tore apart the library looking for you!"

"Your ability to exaggerate astounds me, Al," Rose rolled her eyes. "As if Pince would let anyone tear apart her precious library without suffering the _Avada Kedavra_."

"I left the library ages ago," Scorpius explained, prodding Al unthinkingly with his foot. Al yelped in pain and sprang to his feet, flashing Scorpius a dirty glare.

"What've you been doing all this time, then?" Rose inquired.

"Watching your cousin muck up his only chance at love," Scorpius inclined his head towards the middle of the common room, where James was still settled with his head in his hands.

"Alice chucked him, didn't she?" Al concluded in a knowing voice, shaking his head. "My brother is such an idiot."

"Like a hot potato," Scorpius exhaled gustily, running a hand through his hair. "If you ask me, covering her in mud from head-to-toe really wasn't a smart idea."

"He did that?" Rose gasped, clapping a hand to her forehead. "Merlin, will he ever learn?"

"I hope so."

They gazed at James for another moment before Al said, "I reckon we should go cheer him up, eh?"

"You go," Rose addressed Albus and Scorpius, picking up her bag and slinging it around her shoulder. "I told Evan I'd meet him in the courtyard. I'll see you both later."

She strolled away, her red hair bouncing behind her. Scorpius stared after her, a frown surfacing on his pale features. Ever since the Homecoming Ball the previous year, Rose had taken to spending much of her free time in the company of Evan Rosario, Scorpius's fellow fifth-year Gryffindor.

Evan. Oh, how Scorpius hated him. Evan, the official libertine and the obsession of nearly every single girl, in Scorpius's year. Evan, with his perfect blonde hair and his perfect blue eyes. Evan... with _Rose_. It was enough to make Scorpius's skin crawl.

"Oi," Al snapped, and Scorpius looked up, startled. Al was standing with his arms crossed and his green eyes glimmering with impatience. "Come on," he said. "Let's go talk to James."

"Alright, alright..." Scorpius got to his feet, yawning widely. Absentmindedly, he reposed his hand into his cloak pocket to pull out his wand.

He gasped. It wasn't there.

"Merlin—Al, I've lost my wand!"

Al spun around, eyeing him with sheer incredulity. "You're kidding!"

"No... I think I left it in the library," Scorpius cursed under his breath. "Here—you go talk to James. And I'll go and find it."

Scorpius sprinted down to the third floor and into the library. Ignoring Madam Pince's furious squawks about not being allowed to run in the expanse, Scorpius jogged past several aisles of bookshelves before slowing down. He gave a sigh of relief. There—his wand was still sitting on the very table he'd been studying at an hour ago.

Snatching it up from the table, Scorpius tiptoed stealthily around Madam Pince's desk, not wanting to hear her furious repercussions. He was just about to slip quietly out through the library entrance when something deplorable caught his eye.

Evan Rosario was crouched behind a bookshelf, wrapped so closely around Summer Smith that it was hard to tell whose hands were whose. They were kissing fiercely, as though glued together.

There was moment's reprieve before something large and scabrous erupted Scorpius's stomach, clawing repeatedly at his insides. His head pounded as hot blood rushed to his brain. And suddenly, all sensible thoughts were extinguished, replaced by a savage urge to jinx Evan into the next century. The _cheater_.

_It was one thing to date Rose_, Scorpius mused as he stalked furiously towards Evan. _But to _cheat_ on her while doing so..._ Scorpius hoped Evan knew what he was up against.

Just as he was a foot or so away from the embracing couple, Scorpius stopped, eyes flashing coldly. Evidently noticing his presence, Evan pulled away from Summer, eyes wide and unfocused as he tried to discern the identity of the male standing in front of him with his fists clenched tightly.

"Wha—?"

There was a sickening crunch as Scorpius's hand collided vigorously with Evan's jaw.


	24. A Lack of Faith

Author's Note: YAY! :D I'm so excited, I finally got around to updating this. It's just hit me, how much I've missed writing this story. *sighs* Merlin, I'm going to be upset when it's over...

WHY AM I TALKING ABOUT THE END? Welcome, my minions, to the beginning of some Rose and Scorpius angst. Yep, that's right. Angst, angst, angst. XD

Enjoy!

P.S.—Yes, I hate Evan, as well. I really wished I was Scorpius in the last chapter, while I was writing it.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

"Scorpius!"

Scorpius whirled around, massaging his rather sore fist, a satisfied smirk twitching his lips upward. But the moment his eyes sought out a pair of familiar, startlingly blue eyes, it vanished, and his own eyes widened in alarm.

An emphatically wrathful Rose Weasley stood at the library entrance.

"Rose!" he exclaimed, staggering backwards and colliding unfortunately with Evan, who howled in pain. "Rose—what are you doing—,"

"How dare you!" she shrieked abruptly, cutting him off.

Scorpius's complacent smile returned to his face. At last, Rose _knew_. She knew what a cheater, what a lying piece of filth her boyfriend was. _Evan_. Scorpius snorted softly, as Rose cantered forwards, arms outstretched. She was going to beat Evan up, Scorpius realized, with a jolt of pleasure. And he was looking forward to it immensely—

"Argh!" Scorpius cried out. "Ow, Rose! What the—Rose—_ouch_—stop it, get off, you're hurting me!"

Rose had launched herself forward and started punching every inch of Scorpius that she could reach.

"Good," she snarled vehemently. "You deserve it, you arse!"

"Rose!" Scorpius swiftly grabbed her wrists before she could commence with assaulting him again. "What in Merlin's name is wrong with you—,"

"Wrong with me? Wrong with _me_?" She deftly freed herself from Scorpius's clasp, and took several steps away from him, shaking her head in disgust. "How _dare_ you hit Evan?"

"How dare I—," Scorpius stopped short, letting out a delirious bark of incredulous laughter. "Your _boyfriend_"—he drawled distastefully—"is a cheat! He's scum, as you should very well know by now! What else do you think he's doing at the library with Summer Smith? _Studying?_"

He swiveled around, directing an accusing finger at Evan's whimpering form. But his jaw clenched with fury, the whites of his eyes glimmering, as the realization of the moment crashed unkindly down upon him. Summer had disappeared.

"Clearly, Evan is ten times the man you'll ever be, _Malfoy_," Rose hissed, jabbing him in the chest. "Don't you dare pin this on him."

Scorpius's hands trembled with disbelief, his chest heaving. "Rose," he murmured. "Rose, he's cheating on you. Believe me!"

"Why should I believe you?" Rose screeched. Without warning, she erupted with sheer rage, and the glare she consequently bestowed upon Scorpius was far more terrifying than anything he had ever witnessed before, including his mother's cooking. "Why should I? _You_ haven't had a kind word to say about Evan since last year, and you expect me to _believe_ _you_?"

"Rose!" Scorpius's tone was bordering desperate. How could she not see it? Evan was nothing but an utter fraud, and that was all he would ever be. "Rose—I swear, it's true! He was snogging her—Summer Smith—they were snogging—before you came—and I hit him—,"

"Then where is she? _Where is Summer?_"

"I don't know! She left before you came, I guess—,"

"Just stop it!" Rose screamed, and Scorpius stuttered to a halt. "Just stop lying! What kind of a friend are you? Why can't you just tell me the truth?"

"I _am_ telling the truth!" he argued fiercely, clutching fleetly at his blonde hair. "I _am_—,"

"Excuse me?" a dangerously calm voice interjected. And Scorpius let out a barely audible groan, vaguely wondering if this entire moment was a punishment for some past sin, as he slowly revolved around.

Predictably, Madam Pince stood before him. Her arms were placed firmly at her hips, and sparks of fury seemed to soar out of her beady black eyes, over her hooked nose. "That's it! I have had quite enough from the three of you today—get out!"

"Rose," Scorpius whispered, as Madam Pince began brutally shepherding them towards the exit. "_Please_ believe me."

But Rose had already knelt down beside Evan, and gently chafed the latter's fingers away from his jaw, to reveal a shiny pink blemish where Scorpius's fist had found it's mark. Scorpius winced as Rose glowered savagely at him, whilst she helped Evan gingerly to his feet.

"Come on," she mumbled to him, slinging his arm around her shoulders, still scowling at Scorpius's distressed expression. "Come on, Evan, let's go see Madam Pomfrey."

The last thing Scorpius saw before Madam Pince roughly shoved him out of the library was Evan jeering at him over Rose's shoulder.

* * *

"Merlin's beard—what happened to you, mate?" Albus's panicked voice sounded from an obscure corner of the Gryffindor Common Room, where he seemed to be seated with Fred and James, the latter who looked as though he'd had better days. Scorpius remembered that he had just broken up with Alice. And in that moment, his sympathy towards James accentuated dramatically. He knew exactly how he felt.

Scorpius sauntered unsteadily towards him, dropping down beside James, and flinging his arm hearteningly around his shoulders. His vision began to swim crudely, and he closed his eyes, trying fervently to ignore the pounding in his head, and the uncomfortable heat crawling up his body.

"Scorpius?" Al sounded unhealthily apprehensive. "What happened? Is your wand gone? Did Madam Pince confiscate it?"

Scorpius stifled a humorless laugh, involuntarily amused by the fact that Albus thought this to be about his missing wand, whereas, in reality, it was something worse. Much, much worse.

He mentally kicked himself for believing, at the end of last year, that he and Rose would never fight again. For that had been utterly ridiculous of him. Especially when Evan had been in the picture. And suddenly, it hit him, just how trenchant his feelings towards Rose were. How much he truly loved her. And how much she, most definitely, did not feel the same way.

"Scorpius!" it was James's voice that invaded Scorpius's thoughts. "Scorpius, mate, are you alright? You look like you've walked through a ghost or something!"

Scorpius's eyes snapped open, and he looked up, startled to find that Albus, Fred, and James were all surveying him worriedly. Apparently, he looked terrible.

"She hates me," Scorpius explained, after a moment of silence, letting his face fall into his palms. "She _really_ hates me, this time."

"Who?" Fred inquired curiously.

"Rose."


	25. A Temporary Quitclaim

Author's Note: Yay! New chapter! :) Please don't hate me for this chapter. I PROMISE YOU—Scorpius will never give up on Rose. He just needs some time to come into his own. I will explain everything in the next chapter, I promise.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

"What?" Albus breathed. "How did Rose come into this?"

Scorpius bit his lip nervously, wondering whether he ought to tell Albus and the others about the brawl he and Rose had had at the library, just moments earlier. Rose would never speak to him again, no doubt. She had promised a weary Al, the year previous, that she and Scorpius would never fight about anything even remotely petty again. And as for Evan... Scorpius shuddered, not wanting to think of what the blonde boy's reaction would be if a rumor leaked that he had cheated on Rose Weasley.

On the other hand, perhaps it was better that Albus, James, and Fred knew about Evan's villianousness—not that they, Albus in particular, didn't already know it, what with the way Evan made it a point to belittle them and their family.

In an instant, Scorpius had made his decision.

He began, "See, I went to the library, to get my wand—I found it, by the way—and then... I saw..._something_ on my way out that made me really... _angry_."

Scorpius didn't blame the others for regarding him with utter incredulity.

"Scorpius, mate, I hope you know that I didn't learn a _thing_ from that sentence," James snorted, shaking his head bemusedly.

Scorpius frowned mildly, beginning to question his instinct in enlightening them to Evan's atrocity. He regarded the way his fellow-Gryffindor friends were eyeing him expectantly. Clearly, backing out was no longer an option.

"I saw Evan cheating on Rose."

The reaction from the other males was far more vehement than he had anticipated it to. James and Fred immediately leaped to their feat, both bellowing obscenities—which would have caused their mothers to have coronaries, had they been there—and curling their hands into fists. Even Albus, who was known for being the most levelheaded in strained situations, had a wrathful glint in his eye. Scorpius noticed that he had inconspicuously drawn his wand.

"How dare he!" James roared. "The little—,"

"—really has no idea what he's up against—,"

"—that Rose's father is one of the most accomplished Aurors in the Ministry—,"

"—Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes's new product—,"

"What a prat—,"

"—the cheater—,"

"—wonder who he cheated with—,"

"—idiot—,"

The voices of the three males blurred and rang uncomfortably in Scorpius's ears. He clutched at his hair, squeezing his eyes shut in agony, before bounding to his feet.

"Oi!" he yelled, and they instantaneously stopped clamoring and turned to him. Scorpius was only vaguely aware that the entire common room had stopped to listen to their conversation. "Would you guys _sit down_ a minute?" he lowered his voice.

Still scowling, they dropped to the ground.

Scorpius continued, "Look, Rose doesn't believe that he cheated. She thinks I made it up—,"

"Why—," James began, but Scorpius quelled him with a glare.

"Ss soon as she got around to the library, I was just, er, proceeding to punch Evan in the face,"—there was a round of appreciative looks from Albus, James, and Fred—"but Summer Smith—the girl Rosario cheated with—was gone. And, er, Rose didn't... believe me when I insisted that it was true."

James looked mutinous, though whether his anger was directed towards Evan, Summer, or Rose, Scorpius wasn't sure.

For a moment, they all simply sat in a fraught silence, each glancing up only occasionally to glower at the wall, evidently envisioning a scene involving Rose simpering over a foolish Evan in the Hospital Wing, whilst Summer Smith sat innocently in the Hufflepuff Common Room, acting as though nothing was wrong.

At last, Fred spoke, tone suspiciously nonchalant, "So, James, Dad sent me a box of _Extreme_ Ton-Tongue Toffees—told me to use it on someone I didn't like... reckon we've found that person, eh?"

James smirked at Fred. "I reckon so. Tonight, perhaps? We'll send dear Evan a _hope-your-slap-mark-disappears-soon_ card, and a couple of delicious toffees to go with it," he sniggered.

Fred laughed, and, in that moment, even Albus couldn't help but grin at the wicked expressions on his brother's and cousin's respective faces.

"And you wonder why Alice broke up with you," Albus rolled his eyes. "Mentality of a five-year-old, you've got, James. Right, Scorpius?"

But Scorpius wasn't listening. A rush of fury had returned to him. Rose hadn't believed him. She had believed _Evan_ over him, a boy she had known for only a year.

Out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius saw James, Albus, and Fred exchange looks of unease as he suddenly stood up and proceeded to stomp up the stairs to the Boys' Dormitories without another word. He wanted to scream, yell, tear something to pieces, or perhaps even take a ride on his broom around the Quidditch pitch and toss some Quaffles around.

But, instead, Scorpius simply gritted his teeth and changed into his nightclothes, slipping beneath his comforters, and staring vacantly up at the ceiling.

Why was it that Rose didn't believe him?

He, Scorpius, was her _friend_, he would do absolutely anything for her, and he had never _once_ lied to her in his life.

Scorpius was sure that, had Rose seen the repulsive sneer on Evan's face as they were exiting the library, she would have slapped Evan's cheek and jinxed him to the next century and back.

But she hadn't seen it. Nor had she ever witnessed the obnoxious way by which Evan treated himself and Albus on a regular basis, as though they were his slaves. Scorpius mind whirred, and he found himself with the sudden realization that Rose had only ever witnessed the "superior" side to Evan's nature. She had never seen him leer at himself and Albus in the corridors, never seen the way he cheated off of her in every test, and, worst of all, never seen what he had been doing, just moments before Scorpius had punched him, full in the face.

Scorpius grimaced up at the ceiling. Perhaps he really ought to just call it quits. His affection for Rose... it would never be returned. It wasn't even remotely plausible anymore, what with Evan on her tail, every moment of the day.

Scorpius closed his eyes, brows still somewhat furrowed.

_"So please, please don't give up on her yet."_

Scorpius's eyes snapped open, as Albus's words from a year ago began to plague his mind in the most uncomfortable fashion. _No_, he finally resolved. _No, he wouldn't give up on her, just yet. Not fully. But perhaps a temporary quitclaim was in order..._


	26. Confidants and Confidence

Author's Note: So after pondering for weeks on how to continue the story, I decided to proceed into sixth year. I decided that loitering around in fifth year isn't going to do this story any good, so here we go, right into Scorpius, Rose, and Albus's sixth year. I apologize in advance for the lack of Rose and Al in this chapter. But I figured that it was time Scorpius confided in someone else, someone who is experiencing something similar to him. So here we go... :)

I'm sorry this chapter took so long! It was mostly a lack of inspiration on my part. I hope you haven't given up on me—you readers make me a better author, each and every one of you. Thank you.

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**Year VI**

March 10, 2023

Scorpius glanced briefly up from his essay as a gaggle of sixth-year Hufflepuff and Gryffindor girls shuffled by his table at the library, gossiping and laughing under their breaths. Rose Weasley headed the group, one arm flung lazily around Summer Smith's shoulders and the other around her cousin, Molly.

She eyed Scorpius strangely over her fellow-sixth years' heads as she passed, biting her lip. But she did not stop to talk to him; and Scorpius did not wave her over. He merely inclined his head in greeting, raising his eyebrows, and proceeded to stare back down at his homework, furiously working not look back up, as he felt Rose's gaze bore into his head.

"Wow, you're getting good at this."

Scorpius looked up just in time to see Rose disappear out the library exit, her posse of Gryffindor sixth-year girls still at her tail. Letting out an imperceptible sigh of relief, Scorpius grinned at the boy who had sat down at the table with him, seconds earlier.

"You're getting good at this whole quitclaim thing," James smirked at him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you and Rose hadn't spoken a word in your lives."

"Yeah, but...that's the thing," Scorpius sighed. "I hate this. I hate not talking to her. I feel so...empty."

"Save the schmaltzy talk for Al, please," James shook his head incredulously. "_Empty_, my arse. You're a real sap, mate."

"Says the bloke who bought his ex-girlfriend a bouquet roses on Valentine's Day in an appalling attempt to win her back," Scorpius countered. "And _I'm_ the sap?"

A pink tinge appeared on James's cheeks, and he scowled at Scorpius, smacking him upside-the-head. "Thanks for throwing that back in my face," he mumbled mutinously.

"Well," Scorpius continued thoughtfully. "I reckon they would've worked if they hadn't exploded in her face after she picked them up."

James rolled his eyes. "I didn't _mean_ for them to explode!" he complained. "It just..._happened_."

It was Scorpius's turn to roll his eyes. "I reckon Al's right about you...you just can't be serious, can you?"

"I can be perfectly serious, thank you very much," James huffed. Then, he winked. "It _is_ my middle name, isn't it?"

"Oh, sweet Merlin, save me—,"

"Is Merlin your new nickname for Rose, then?" James quipped with an innocence that did not fool Scorpius.

He glared at James. "You are _not_ making this quitclaim any easier with your constant implications that Rose is my _girlfriend_, James."

"Look, if it were up to me, I'd have the two of you locked in a broom cupboard—with it known that I wouldn't let either of you out until you snogged—faster than you could say _Gryffindor_," James shrugged. When Scorpius looked livid, he protested, "Have you not seen the way Rose has been staring at you lately? She fancies the pants off you, Scorp-O."

The corners of Scorpius's lips twitched upward slightly at the administration of the old epithet. But they quickly drooped downwards again. "She does not fancy me."

"Yes, she does!" James maintained adamantly. "She's just too proud to admit it. You know what I reckon? I reckon it's all because of this whole quitclaim thing. She took you for granted before...now, it's finally hit her that she hasn't got you anymore—and that it's all _her_ fault."

"So you think she knows that Evan is cheating filth?" Scorpius inquired curiously.

"Nah," James shook his head. "If she did, then she would've told come to us at once. She's proud, not stupid."

Scorpius turned away in disappointment.

James smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, mate—she'll find out soon enough. I just don't understand why you won't let Al, Fred, and me tell her, though. I mean, if three of her cousins all told her, she's bound to believe it."

"No, she'll just think I told you to tell her that," Scorpius's brows furrowed slightly. "Besides, I don't want to try and convince her anymore. I want her to figure it out on her own—that Evan is a cheating piece of—," and Scorpius broke off into a violent rant of vehemently executed curse words. James put his hands up in mock-surrender, eyebrows arching.

"Alright, Scorp, I get it," James laughed, and Scorpius smiled rather sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," he chuckled.

There was a sudden thumping of footsteps, and both Scorpius and James looked up to witness Alice Longbottom sauntering into the library in her habitually cheerful fashion. Upon noticing James, she blushed slightly and narrowed her eyes, before turning to a nearby shelf, glancing once more at James from over her shoulder.

"If Rose fancies the pants off me," Scorpius murmured, still watching Alice, "then Alice fancies every article of clothing you possess, off of _you_. Merlin, I think she's looked over here at least twenty times since she walked in..."

"Well, stop staring over at her, idiot," James hissed, though he looked quite pleased with himself. "So you think she's falling for my dashing good looks and charming ways, at last?"

"Keep going on like that and your head will get so big that Alice will have to pop it with a pin before she can snog you," Scorpius chortled, shaking his head in amusement. "Where's Fred today? Isn't he usually with you?"

"He's off with his new girlfriend," James muttered ungenerously under his breath. "Nellie. They're sweet and all, mind you, but—,"

"You're jealous that he got his girl before you got yours, aren't you?" Scorpius interjected knowingly, and James blushed, staring down at his shoes. "Don't worry about it, mate. You'll get her before the end of the year, I swear by it."

"I hope so."

Scorpius glanced over at the nearby bookshelf. "Why don't you go talk to her?"

"Are you mad? She'll bite my head off! I'm pretty sure she still hasn't gotten over the exploding roses—,"

"Don't be a prick," Scorpius interrupted firmly. "Go talk to her! She'll be fine with it, I promise," he added bracingly, and James looked somewhat less doubtful.

"I suppose I could try..." he trailed off, getting uncertainly to his feet. "But if she jinxes me, I will blame you for it."

"Fine," Scorpius grinned. "Now, go!"

"Alright, alright," James laughed. "No need to get stingy...thanks, mate, for the talk. I reckon I needed that. And...don't worry about Rose—she's cracking, I know it."

Scorpius nodded and half-smiled as James cantered away, towards Alice. He watched as the two struck up a conversation, Alice wary at first, but eventually thawing. And he couldn't help but feel the tiniest pang of jealousy as James and Alice talked animatedly together, laughing jovially, their distinct animosity temporarily forgotten.


	27. In That Instant

Author's Note: Hehehe :)

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

March 10, 2023

Scorpius gathered up his essays, books, and quills, shoving them haphazardly into his bag. Slinging it over his shoulder and heaving a weary sigh, he began making his way towards the library's exit. James and Alice were still standing by the nearby bookshelf, smiling vaguely at each other, lips merely inches apart. Smirking slightly, Scorpius shook his head as he slipped through the library exit. James _definitely_ owed him one.

He let his mind wander as he paced through one corridor after another, in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room. As was habitual in his case, his mind wandered instinctively in the direction of a certain redheaded girl. He could almost see her blue eyes looming in front of him, as, image after image of her petite face flickered in his mind. Violently shaking his head in attempt to clear the unfortunately vivid image, Scorpius scrunched his eyes shut as rounded a corner.

He exhaled gustily as he reopened his eyes, glancing up, and then, without warning, stopping short in his tracks. His eyes widened in alarm.

Evan Rosario was dangling upside-down from the ceiling, by the ankle, arms flailing. He was opening and closing his mouth in earnest, but no sounds were being made. Upon noticing Scorpius, his eyes widened, and he began buffeting the air even more vigorously.

Scorpius arched his brows, baffled. Pulling out his wand, he directed it at Evan's thrashing form. _Liberacorpus_, he thought.

With a cry of panic, Evan crumpled to the ground in a heap. He immediately scrambled to his feet and shuffled backwards, training his wand defensively on Scorpius.

"Stay back!" he bellowed. "Stay back!"

Scorpius frowned and lowered his wand, taking a cautious step backwards. "Alright..."

Evan heaved a noticeable sigh of relief, following suit by lowering his own wand. But he was still gazing at Scorpius with utmost suspicion. "What did you tell her, eh?" he snapped irritably. "_What_ did you tell her?"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "What on Earth are you on about, Rosario? What did I tell _whom_?"

"Don't play stupid with me, Malfoy," Evan spat malevolently, now glowering fiercely at Scorpius. "I know you had something to do with this...tell me what you told Weasley!"

But Scorpius was no longer paying heed to Evan's protests. A flash of red over Evan's shoulder had caught his attention, and something instantaneously clicked in Scorpius's brain. Filled with a sudden, inexplicable euphoria, Scorpius broke into a run, sprinting away from Evan's furious cries.

He swung breathlessly around the corner, stopping to revolve slowly on the spot, desperately seeking out the one person he most desired to see. He heard a distant pitter-patter of rushed footsteps, and he swiveled around, just in time to see a pair of familiar shoes vanish down the nearby staircase. Not wanting to lose any time, he rapidly followed, scampering down the staircase, as well.

At the bottom floor, the distant footfalls ceased, and Scorpius immediately headed towards the large front doors, opening them and padding stealthily outdoors. The hushed stillness of the late spring evening that it was hung in the air, and Scorpius blissfully breathed in the crisp scent of the cool night as he began briskly walking down the path, towards the Black Lake.

"Go away!"

Scorpius's halted in his tracks and his gaze snapped up. He was nearing the Black Lake, positioned mere feet away from the large tree under which he and Albus—and, back when she had spoken to him, Rose—often loved to do homework together. And, as he'd suspected, Rose Weasley was sitting underneath it, glaring ferociously up at him.

Scorpius ignored her command; instead, he placidly strolled towards her, a mask of determination encasing his pale face.

"Go away, Scorpius!" she bounded to her feet, fists clenched. "I don't want to talk to you!"

Scorpius pretended he had not heard her. Nonchalantly, he paced the remaining distance, stopping as soon as he was a foot away from the redheaded girl.

"Come to rub it in my face, have you?" she hissed, crossing her arms. "I _saw_ him, the filthy bastard! Out in the corridor with that idiot-girl, Alexandra Thompson..._Levicorpus_ seemed fitting..." she trailed off lividly, massaging her fists with a strange expression on her face.

The corners of Scorpius's lips twitched, but he managed to keep his face straight.

"I can't believe—I can't—how could I be so _stupid_?"

Scorpius watched as Rose fumbled madly for words. She was scowling at her feet.

"And—and I was _just_ with Alexandra today, when we were at the library! And she just—she just left me and Molly and Summer at the end of the third floor...I thought she was going down to the Hufflepuff Common Room—but she went to meet—_him_—,"

Seeing the way her anger was steadily mounting, Scorpius didn't let her continue.

"Alright, Rose, it's alright—come on," he murmured. "Let's go."

"But—Evan—I mean, Rosario—,"

"Forget about him, Rose," Scorpius said. "Just forget about him. He's not worth it."

Rose was silent for a moment, studying Scorpius intently. Then—"Merlin's beard, Scorpius!" she blurted out loudly, shaking her head in bemusement. "_Why_ are you so..._nice_? I treat you like dirt for a whole, effing _year-and-a-half_, and you offer to _walk_ me back up to the _castle_?"

Scorpius laughed. "Well, I'm not mad at you—,"

"You should be, though," she shrugged, tone earnest. "I was a right foul prick to you, and you know it..."

Scorpius simply gazed at her, mesmerized. And, suddenly, it hit him—she was talking to him. Oh, how he'd missed the sound of her voice. The lilting giggles, the sly witticisms, the blunt remarks. The way she threw her head back when she laughed. And the way her blue eyes twinkled, all the time.

Scorpius blinked, realizing that those very blue eyes were now eyeing him suspiciously. "What are you staring at me like that for?"

Scorpius jumped, taking a cautious step backwards. "Oh, er, it's nothing...er, do you want to get back up to Gryffindor or what? I'm freezing out here, Rose."

"Alright," she smiled at him. "Er, just, one second—wait, Scorpius. I—I, I...well, I'm not really one for apologizing. I mean, I rarely ever apologize. Just ask Al—when we were kids, I used to always convince him that he was in the wrong when we fought, and then make _him_ apologize. But...but, this time," she swallowed deeply. "I really _am_ sorry."

Scorpius rolled his eyes fondly. "Alright, fine—apology accepted. There. Are you happy—,"

But Scorpius never got the chance to find out whether Rose was happy or not, because the very next instant, she had bolted forward, and kissed him, full on the lips.


	28. That Not–So–Happy Day

Author's Note: Sorry, all! I had meant to post this chapter quite some time back, but didn't get around to doing it until today. Anyway, I apologize in advance for the lack of action in this chapter. It's meant to be a bit of a...soother, if you know that I mean. To sort of get everyone back on track. I hope you enjoy! :) I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner!

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

March 10, 2023

Scorpius felt his mind go numb as Rose's arms looped around his neck, pulling him closer. He would never know how his arms managed to find her waist, or how he recovered from his shock long enough to kiss her back. All he knew was that Rose Weasley was kissing him, and that it was the most euphoric moment of his life.

But, the kiss ended as quickly as it had begun, as, suddenly, Rose pulled away. And Scorpius's eyes snapped open, his mouth slightly agape, as he watched as Rose stumbled backwards, hand over her mouth and eyes wide with alarm. Scorpius was vaguely pleased to note that her ears were that classic shade of boiling red.

"Rose," he began tentatively. Rose was shaking her head, looking horrified with herself. "Rose—," he started again, but she was already off, sprinting in the direction of the school. Scorpius watched her go, the exaltation from the kiss already ebbing slowly away, leaving in its place an austere emptiness.

Scorpius slumped to the ground, clutching at his hair. He rubbed his eyes wearily. _What had he done?_ Leaning back against the tree, he breathed in the soothing scent of the apple blossoms and closed his eyes, wondering whether it had all been a dream.

He didn't know how long he sat there, in the shade of the large apple tree, twirling several petals between his fingers. But, after what seemed to Scorpius like less than a moment later, a bright light was glaring in his face and a hand was shaking his shoulder.

"Oi!" a voice bellowed. "Oi, Scorpius, mate, get up! Merlin's beard, you're cold as ice..."

Scorpius's eyes flickered open and he leaped to his feet, head spinning wildly. "What—," he instinctively brought a hand up to his forehead, trying to ease the pace of his swimming vision. At long last, he was able to make out a pair of very familiar, emerald eyes in front of him.

"Al?"

"Where have you _been?_" Albus demanded, sounding furious. "Do you have any idea how long James, Fred, Dominique, and I have been looking for you? One minute, James is telling me that you should have been up in the Common Room _ages ago_, and, the next minute, Rose is practically flying up the stairs to the Girls' Dormitories!"

"Al—,"

"What did you two _do?_" Albus interrogated harshly. "Molly and Lily say she's sitting on her bed looking like the Ravenclaw ghost—pale and expressionless. She won't even tell _them_ what's wrong!"

"She's—,"

"Then, James is all panicked because you haven't turned up, and there's only five minutes to curfew...and we've practically had to put together a search party, Scorpius!" Albus flung his hands into the air, a blazing look in his green eyes.

"I—,"

"What the hell is going on, mate—,"

"Well, maybe if you stopped interrupting me, I'd actually get around to telling you," Scorpius snapped, glowering at his friend.

Albus's brows furrowed and he gazed at Scorpius appraisingly before nodding. "Fine..._fine_. Go on, then."

"Rose..." Scorpius bit his lip. "Rose—er, she—she kissed me."

There was a tense silence. Albus's expression was uncomprehending—"What?"

"Your cousin, Rose Monica Weasley, kissed me," Scorpius elaborated, a hint of impatience ringing in his voice.

Albus eyed Scorpius incredulously for one fraught moment. Then, without any warning whatsoever, he burst into laughter. "Now _that's_, by far, the funniest excuse you've ever come up with," Albus managed, through his laughter. "Completely beats the time you told Neville you were late to class because a redheaded angel detained you—,"

"Al," Scorpius frowned. "I'm not joking."

Albus's laughter ceased at once. "_What?_" he yelped.

"Yeah," Scorpius mumbled uncomfortably, running a hand through his disheveled, blonde hair.

"She kissed you—_bloody hell!_" Albus hyperventilated. "She _kissed_ you."

"I'd figured that much out for myself, funnily enough," Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Are you not understanding this?" Albus demanded, sounding distinctly delighted. "She _kissed_ you! She _fancies_ you—,"

"I don't know, do I?" Scorpius shrugged, disheartened. "She bolted a second later."

"Yeah, but only because she doesn't know that you fancy her, too!" Albus cried, swatting Scorpius upside-the-head. "You know, for being a straight-O student, you really are quite thick, Scorpius," he scoffed.

"Thanks, Al," Scorpius glared. "You really do wonders for my self-esteem."

"Nothing compared to what that kiss did to it," Albus chortled.

Scorpius blushed.

* * *

There was a thunder of footsteps, and both Albus and Scorpius swiveled around to find James Potter, Fred and Dominique Weasley, and Alice Longbottom speeding down the corridor, all looking profusely anxious. Dominique was at the head of the troop, with Fred following close behind. Fred was holding his wand, tightly, in the other. James had his Invisibility Cloak slung over his shoulder, and, Scorpius was shocked to see, was clutching Alice's hand, their fingers intertwined.

"You _prick!_" Dominique hollered, cantering forward and smacking every inch of Scorpius's body she could reach. "Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you—,"

"Easy, Dom," Albus stepped in front of Scorpius, shielding him from his cousin's wrath. "I've already given it to him."

"Good," Dominique hissed breathlessly. "So, where's he been, then?"

"Snogging our dear cousin," Albus grinned, and Scorpius had to resist the urge to stamp on his foot.

Dominique froze, Fred following suit. Alice looked puzzled, but James and Albus were both beaming widely.

"I knew it!" James punched the air happily with his fist. "You got her, didn't you?"

"Not exactly," Scorpius muttered desolately. "But I see you did," he inclined his head towards James and Alice's still-interlocked fingers.

James winked at him. Then, he asked, "Wait a minute—what exactly do you mean by 'not exactly'?"

"Er, Rose...sort of...ran for it after she kissed me," Scorpius muttered in embarrassment, determinedly avoiding everyone's gazes.

"So, Rose started it?" Fred inquired interestedly. "And then left? Merlin, are you that bad?"

"Shut up, Fred," Alice said firmly, as Scorpius's cheeks flushed pink. "I'm sure Scorpius is perfectly fine," she said bracingly, glaring ferociously as Fred and James burst into sniggers.

"Maybe Fred's right," Scorpius's stomach dropped, as the thought suddenly occurred to him. "Maybe I am terrible at it."

"Wow, you're _really_ losing it if you're taking Fred's comments seriously," Dominique declared, shaking her head in amusement; and even Scorpius couldn't suppress a smile. "Alright, then, come on, everyone, let's get back to Gryffindor—,"

"_Meow_."

All six Gryffindors spun around on their heels, hearts pounding and breaths catching in their throats. Predictably and quite unfortunately for them, Mrs. Norris was leering at them from behind a large vase. "_Meow_," she purred again, eyes glittering maliciously.

"Stupid cat," Fred spat vehemently, cantering forward. "Go away, you vile, stupid—,"

"Fred," Alice warned abruptly; and, suddenly, the sound of heavy footfalls was echoing in the hallway. All six teenagers froze with fear as Argus Filch rounded the corner of the corridor, grinning repulsively at them.

"Half-an-hour past curfew," he snarled. "And I've caught you all red-handed, haven't I?" His nasty smirk widened. "Oh, happy, happy day."


	29. Almost Perfect

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long! I was swamped with work for the past few weeks...but I finally got the creative wheel running again, and...well, I hope you like this! :)

IMPORTANT: The next chapter, not this one but the NEXT one, is the...LAST ONE! I want to briefly thank (I'll save the full thanking session for the next chapter!) everyone who stuck with this story, whether it be from the beginning or simply from the last chapter. It means the world. Thank you.

And without further ado...

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

March 10, 2023

As the lantern on the wall flickered more brightly, Scorpius suddenly noticed that Filch had not arrived upon the scene alone. No, a head of dirty-blonde hair was peaking out from behind Filch's shoulder. And, as the head turned towards him, a pair of very familiar blue eyes met his, and Scorpius felt a rush of unfortunate recognition. Evan Rosario was glaring at him.

Scorpius glanced around at the others. All were eyeing Evan with varying levels of disgust. James, Albus, and Fred had curled their hands into fists, jaws clenching, and Alice and Dominique were exchanging uneasy glances as they surreptitiously held the three boys back. Scorpius turned back to Evan, frowning. As though he noticed their anger, Filch chuckled spitefully.

"Wondering what he's doing here?" Filch's nasty smirk widened. "Well, he tipped me off, he did! He came running to me about you rule-breakers, the good man!" Filch clapped Evan's shoulder happily.

Whatever hatred Scorpius had harbored for Evan before had multiplied by a substantially large amount in that single moment. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to rebuke the blonde boy, but Dominique's foot prodding his stopped him. His gaze snapped to her; she gave him a forewarning look.

"Well, come along, you six!" Filch barked, ushering them forward. "Detention time!" he sang. "Off to bed with you, Mr. Rosario! Or I won't hesitate to give you detention, as well!"

Evan jumped slightly, nodding slowly. And, with one more vicious glower in Scorpius's direction, he sped off.

"Bastard," James mumbled, and Fred made a noise of affirmation.

"Faster! Faster! No dawdling!" Filch piped up suddenly, and James rolled his eyes scathingly.

With a cautious look towards Filch, who was sauntering a few feet in front of them, Scorpius turned to James, "So, what's your plan?"

James's brows arched. "What plan?"

"Your plan to get us all out of this mess!" Scorpius whispered urgently. When James's expression remained blank, Scorpius continued, "Don't tell me you haven't come up with one! James, this is solely _your_ department—none of us want _detention_ now—," Scorpius stopped short as James's face suddenly split into a beaming grin. "What—,"

"Of course I have a plan," James sniggered. "Thought I'd give you a scare, though—_ow_—" he groaned as Alice and Dominique promptly smacked his head.

"This is _not_ a time for jokes, James Potter," Dominique snapped. "Now, out with it. What's your escape tactic?"

James glowered at her, but proceeded to explain, "Alright, first off, we have to know what Filch's detention plan is today,"—as if on cue, Filch's impatient commands for them to hurry up rang through the hallway again—"Then," James paused, frowning slightly. "Then, we need a diversion of sorts...Fred, do you still have those timed Dungbombs Uncle George gave you at Christmas?"

Fred rummaged through his pockets. "Yep."

"Excellent—set one at the next corridor for...er, five minutes," James glanced up. "And, since it looks like Filch is carting us off to the Trophy Room—to polish trophies without magic, no doubt—five minutes will buy us just enough time to get to escape." James grinned around at everyone. "What do you think?"

There was a murmur of assent from the group. "It's perfect," Alice smiled. James's cheeks turned red.

* * *

"Why isn't the effing thing going off?" Scorpius heard James murmur to Fred as the pair swiped furiously at a pair of old Quidditch trophies. "I swear, it's been ten minutes—I thought you set it for five—,"

Fred frowned, staring down at the trophy. "I thought I did, too...maybe I accidentally set it for fifteen—,"

"Fifteen?" James hissed. "_Fifteen?_"

"It can't be much longer," Fred reasoned. "I know I set it." But, Scorpius noticed, there was a tinge of uncertainty in his voice that hadn't been there before.

James sighed, flicking a piece of dust off of the silver plaque he was holding. "I hope you're right. We have that Transfiguration test tomorrow, and I don't want to be sleeping in class because I was up all night, scrubbing at a bunch of old awards—,"

As if on cue, there was a deafening blast from outside the door, and Filch, who was standing at the Trophy Room's entrance, scratching his cat's ears lazily, gave a startled cry of fright. With a vicious, appraising look at the six furiously scrubbing children, he hurried quickly out the door without a word.

Scorpius immediately jumped to his feet, grinning; Albus, Alice, and Dominique quickly followed suit. James whooped, fist punching the air, as he turned to his best friend.

"Good one, Freddie!" James cried. "That'll keep him occupied for ages!"

But, Fred had gone white. He gazed at the door fearfully. "James—that wasn't the Dungbomb I set."

James looked confused. "What are you on about? Of course that was the Dungbomb you set—I saw you put it on the floor—,"

Fred shook his head slowly, eyes widening. "I didn't set it, I've been thinking...and I can't remember ever turning the knob to set it...and the Dungbombs from Dad's store don't sound like the one that just went off now...they're deeper and louder."

James gaped. "Then...who—,"

There was a sudden clatter of footsteps from the corridor outside, and all six delinquents turned, wide-eyed, towards the door. With a slam, the door opened, and Rose Weasley entered the room, chest heaving. She swept indifferently past her six shocked-looking spectators; and with a swish of her mahogany wand, all the trophies, plaques, and medals returned to their appropriate positions on the various shelves, looking mysteriously cleaner than they had before.

She turned to her fellow-Gryffindors, looking very satisfied with herself. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

The seven Gryffindors stared at parchment—titled "The Marauder's Map"—in Rose's hands, as they jogged up staircase after staircase, up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I still can't believe you nicked it from my trunk," James sounded half-annoyed, half-impressed.

"Well, what did you expect me to do?" Rose demanded. "Lily came to my dormitory to ask me where her brothers were...we waited in the Common Room for you all for _half-an-hour_ before I finally decided to get the map and see what had happened.

"And, then, of course, I saw your all crammed into the Trophy Room with Filch...I had to do _something_, right?"

"Thanks, Rose," Alice smiled at her. "You were brilliant."

"You do realize," said Albus, sounding worried, "that Filch will have all of our heads tomorrow, once he gets back to the Trophy Room and sees that we're all gone."

Rose glanced at the map. "He's still on the third floor with Peeves, investigating the Dungbomb I set off. It'll be a long while before he gets back to the Trophy Room. And, once he does...well, really, who _cares?_" she demanded flippantly. "The worst thing that can happen is another detention."

Albus stopped suddenly in his tracks, looking incredulous. "Who are you and what have you done with Rose Weasley?"

His words were greeted with a round of laughter from the others.

Scorpius smiled slightly, only half-listening to the banter between the others. His eyes were glued to Rose, his mind still numbed from seeing her burst into the Trophy Room, blue eyes alight with excitement.

He watched, mesmerized, as she blushed beet-red at Albus's remark, lightly hitting Albus's shoulder. He watched, enthralled, as she began exaggeratedly describing the awed look on James's face when she'd made an appearance upon the site of their detention.

And, before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Rose, I need to talk to you."

His words were met with a ringing silence. James and Albus were beaming at him; Fred was smirking; Dominique and Alice, smiling encouragingly; and Rose...she looked stunned.

"Right now?" she asked, grimacing down at her hands.

Scorpius took a deep, reassuring breath. "Yes. Right now."

There was a significant pause as her eyes flicked up to meet his.

With a pointed cough, Albus announced in a too-bright voice, "Well, I think we'll get going...upstairs...give you both some, er, privacy..." he trailed off in an unconvincingly casual manner. And, clearing his throat once more, he ushered his brother, cousins, and Alice up the nearby staircase.

After staring bemusedly in their direction for one more fleeting moment, Scorpius snapped his eyes onto Rose. She was worrying her lip between her teeth, staring at the ground.

"Rose..."

"I get it," she muttered suddenly. "I _know_, Scorpius."

Scorpius did a double-take, eyebrows flying up his forehead. _She couldn't possibly know._ "What?"

"I know what I did was stupid...I'm sorry...I—I...it won't happen again, alright?"

Scorpius regarded Rose with a mixture of incredulity and utter bewilderment. "Rose, what are you talking about?"

Rose turned her determined gaze on Scorpius, and Scorpius saw, for the first time, the fire burning in her eyes and the almost-electric crackle of her red hair. "Stop playing dumb!" she barked. "Don't act like you don't know _exactly_ what I'm talking about!"

"But it's true!" Scorpius retaliated. "I have absolutely no clue what you're on about!"

Rose took a furious step closer to him. "I know what you're doing," she murmured, voice dangerously low. "You want me to say it out loud, don't you? _Don't you?_"

Scorpius simply gawked at her, completely and utterly disconcerted.

"Fine!" Rose flung her hands into the air. "_Fine!_ I kissed you. There, I said it. Happy? And, I'm sorry. I'm really, _really_ sorry."

Scorpius felt his heart stop, his stomach drop. _No_, it couldn't have all been a lie. _It couldn't have._ "You're...sorry?"

"I—well, yes," Rose frowned at him. "I'm sorry I kissed you. I know it was stupid of me to...to think that you would ever—," she stopped short, frowning yet more intensely.

"That I would ever...?" Scorpius urged her to continue. Suddenly, he felt very lighthearted. Suddenly, he felt like singing Celestina Warbeck songs at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, everything in the world seemed..._right_.

"Ever," Rose swallowed. "Ever...want...me."

Scorpius gave a maniacal bark of laughter. "This, coming from the girl I've fancied since I was fourteen, is really rich."

Rose ogled at him. "What—,"

But Scorpius didn't let her continue. He tore foreword, enveloping her in his arms, heart beating furiously as their lips met, for the second time that day.

Scorpius was amazed. The first time they'd kissed, it had happened so unanticipatedly and abruptly that he barely remembered it. But, right then, he was aware of every last detail: his hand on the small of her back, his thumb resting on her cheek, her arms tightening around his neck. It was perfect...

...until Fred and James began pelting him with Stink Pellets from the upper staircase landing.


	30. The End

Author's Note: Okay. Wow. I can't believe it's all over. It seems like just yesterday I got this story rolling in the first place, but now...it's done! I'm feeling this weird mixture of relief and disappointment.

Now, I just want to say...I couldn't have gotten this story this far if it hadn't been for YOU. Yes, that's right. If it wasn't for my wonderful readers, who have given me tremendous support and feedback this entire time, this story probably wouldn't have turned out as it did. Thank you.

A special thanks to everyone who reviewed, whether it be once or for every chapter. Your feedback was invaluable. Thank you so, so much:

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(If I missed your name, and you just _know_ you reviewed at least once, PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know!)

And, now...on with the finale!

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**Year VII**

June 28, 2024

Scorpius lightly fingered the Head Boy badge which he had just removed from his sweater. He stared at it, shocked. And, suddenly, it hit him, all at once: he was done with school. He was done with Hogwarts. He was an adult.

"Merlin's beard," he murmured, eyes widening as he turned the badge over and over in his palm.

"Scary, isn't it?" Albus's voice came from the other end of their dormitory. "We've been at Hogwarts for seven years now, mate."

"It's..._weird_," Scorpius muttered, half-amazed, half-bitter. He looked up at Albus, who was sitting on his trunk, at the foot of his bed. He, unlike Scorpius, was still wearing his Hogwarts Robes, as though he simply couldn't get enough of them. His Prefects' badge was still neatly pinned, under his collar.

"I know," Albus looked amazed. "I can't believe we're _done_. All those times I thought 'I can't wait to get out of here'...and, now, I'd give anything to stay another year."

"That can be easily arranged," Scorpius smirked. "I'll just tell Professor Marchbanks that you want a 'T' on all your N.E.W.T.s—,"

"As tempting as that offer sounds," Albus rolled his eyes, "I think I'll keep my grades at Pass Level...I need all the help I can get if I want to get into that Auror Department."

Scorpius nodded slowly, biting his lip as, suddenly, a terrible thought crossed his mind. "What if we don't get in, Al?" he whispered fearfully. "What if—?"

"Don't be such a pessimist," Albus reproached. "We'll get in, I'm sure of it."

Scorpius sighed in concession. "I hope so."

Just then, the door to their dormitory opened, and Rose slipped inside, looking unusually grim. "Come on, you two. The carriages are arriving in an hour."

"You two go down for breakfast," Albus exhaled gustily, grimacing down at his half-packed trunk. "I've got some packing to do still..."

Scorpius got to his feet, slipping his Head Boy badge into the pocket of his jeans. And, together, he and Rose began making their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Er, Rose..." Scorpius frowned, as a thought, one which had been plaguing his mind since the beginning of the year, suddenly occurred to him.

"Mm-hmm?" she looked up at him.

"I was wondering...er, have you—have you mentioned..._us_...to your parents, yet?"

Rose's cheeks flushed deep red, and she quickly turned her gaze back to the floor. "Not yet...have you?"

"Nope."

There was a fraught pause as both Rose and Scorpius considered this. Then, their eyes latched onto each other's, and they simultaneously blurted out, "This could be a problem."

* * *

The familiar buzz of chatter rang throughout their compartment, and Scorpius grinned good-naturedly as Daniel Thomas began singing loudly along to Frank's blaring wireless. Rose was sitting in her customary seat in the corner of the compartment, face tucked behind a thick book, and legs resting on Scorpius's lap. Lily, Roxanne, and Hugo were talking animatedly on Scorpius's right. Only Albus was mysteriously absent.

"I swear," Scorpius mumbled to Rose, "that boy has a secret girlfriend or something...he keeps disappearing..."

Rose shut her book with a snap, tilting her head to the side. "Albus?"

"Yeah."

Rose giggled. "_Albus_ has a secret girlfriend?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Hey, you never know."

Rose's eyebrows knitted, and she stared at Scorpius thoughtfully for a long moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Scorpius inquired curiously.

"I'm thinking about _who_ in their right mind would _ever_ date Albus Potter," Rose's lips twisted into a teasing smirk, and she burst into another fit of giggles.

"Well, _excuse_ me," a muffled voice said, as the compartment's door slid open. Scorpius turned to find Albus standing by the door, sporting a highly mock-offended expression. "But, I think you meant...who wouldn't date me?"

"Would you like a list, my dear brother?" Lily piped up suddenly, grinning mischievously up at him.

The entire compartment burst into laughter, and Albus stuck his tongue out at his younger sister before taking a seat beside Scorpius. "So, mate," Albus's brows arched as he surveyed his best friend. "Have you figured out how you're going to break the news that your dating Rose to our family?"

"Thanks for throwing that back in my face," Scorpius swallowed heavily, pupils dilating with anxiety. "Will they murder me?"

"Of course not," Albus shook his head, amused. "Well...maybe Uncle Ron will, but—,"

"No, he won't," Rose said firmly. "He knows not to interfere with my love life...Mum's drilled that into his head enough times."

"Yeah, but how many times have you dated a Malfoy, eh, Rose?" Albus quipped.

Rose glared at him. "What difference does it make?"

"It doesn't make a difference to me!" Albus flared up, returning the glare. "He's my best mate! But, your dad might just go ballistic."

"No, he won't—,"

"Will you both just calm down?" said Scorpius tiredly, before the spat became any more vicious. "I think the real problem here is trying to prevent _my_ dad from going ballistic."

* * *

As the whistle blew for the third and final time, Scorpius, Rose, and Albus quickly hopped off the train, lugging their trunks behind them.

"Can you see them?" Rose asked Albus, craning her head to get a better look at the crowd on the platform.

"No..." Albus trailed off, following suit. "Oh—there they are!"

And, Scorpius turned to see an enormous group of people waving energetically towards them. His lips melted into a warm grin as he followed Rose and Albus towards the waiting cluster. There were James and Alice, standing arm-in-arm. And Fred and Dominique. Next to them stood Dominique's elder sister and her husband, who, in his arms, he was holding a little girl with a head of vivid, bubblegum-pink hair.

Scorpius's heart pounded violently in his chest as he took in Rose and Albus's vast family, vaguely wondering whether he would make it through the morning alive. Merlin only knew what their reactions would be to the bombshell was about to drop, regarding Rose.

"Come on," Rose tugged at his hand, and he followed her, blinking rapidly.

"Albus! Rose! Scorpius!" Albus's mother enveloped the three of them in a warm embrace.

"Hi, Mrs. Potter," Scorpius inclined his head in polite greeting.

"Hello, sweetheart," she smiled at him. "What's with the long face?"

"Nothing," Scorpius forced the corners of his lips upward. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose hug her father, and he instinctively turned towards them.

Ronald Weasley looked up as Scorpius tentatively approached him, and Scorpius saw his eyes narrow, ever-so-slightly.

"Hello," he said smoothly.

"Er—hi," Scorpius waved awkwardly. "I have something to say..."

"Yes?"

A sudden quietude in the group told Scorpius that each and every single one of Rose's present relatives had directed their undivided attention towards him. Resisting the urge to curse, Scorpius took a deep breath. "I'mdatingyourdaughter."

It came out in a rush, and Scorpius didn't blame Ronald Weasley one bit for frowning down at him, evidently confused.

"I beg your pardon?"

Scorpius glanced at Rose. She nodded encouragingly.

"I'm—er, I'm dating Rose."

It seemed to take a moment for Rose's father to comprehend what he had said. Around him, Scorpius could hear the various members of the Potter-Weasley clan chuckling knowingly at the look on Ronald Weasley's face.

Even Scorpius had to admit that it was rather comical. Perhaps he would have laughed if he hadn't been so utterly afraid of being cursed into the next century. Ron's eyes had gone as wide as saucers and his ears had turned a deep shade of maroon. Scorpius was reminded instantaneously of Rose.

"You—you—dating?" Ron spluttered. "Rose...Rose and—you—_date_—you—,"

Suddenly, the crowd parted, and Scorpius's stomach dropped as a head of platinum blonde hair—so very much like his own—came into view. And, before he had a chance to intervene, Draco and Astoria Malfoy had joined the congregation.

"What's going on here?" Draco demanded, scowling at Scorpius. "We've been waiting for you at the other end of the platform for fifteen minutes—," he stopped short as Rose's father rounded on him, still spluttering in earnest.

"Your son—my daughter—_date_—,"

Draco's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Ron began gesturing frantically towards where Scorpius and his daughter were standing together. Scorpius instinctively moved closer to her.

Draco's frown intensified. Both he and Ron looked fit to kill. Their wives stepped forward at once, covertly holding them backwards.

"Rose," Ronald Weasley's voice was dangerously low. "Tell me this is a joke."

Suddenly, Rose seemed to explode. She whirled around, shooting her father a glare so nasty that Scorpius was surprised he didn't recoil in terror. Her blue eyes seemed to burn with rage and her red hair crackled threateningly with every word she spoke. "No," she declared resolutely. "No, this is _not_ a joke. And, I could prove it to you in several ways, but I think I'll do it this way—,"

Before Scorpius knew what was happening, she had thrown her arms around his neck and caught him up in an remarkable kiss. After several long moments, in which Scorpius distinctly head James and Fred let out several, piercing wolf-whistles, he and Rose broke apart, both turning around to smile nervously at their family, arms still around each other.

There only a split-second's silence before the entire watching crowd, save a shocked-looking Draco and an even more shocked-looking Ron, burst into applause and laughter. Scorpius couldn't help it—he grinned widely around at them all.

As the bright afternoon sun hit his face, Scorpius's mind reeled to a very similar morning, almost eight years previous; and a memory of a small, nervous, platinum-haired boy sitting alone in a compartment flashed across his eyes.

Scorpius blinked, shaking his head, shaking the memory away. _That boy was no more_. And, after exchanging a rather dazed grin, he and Rose began making their way out of the platform, hands still-linked, leaving their families to trail slowly after them.


End file.
